


Roller Disco Dreams

by SprinkledWords



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-04-24
Packaged: 2018-05-12 11:16:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5664142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SprinkledWords/pseuds/SprinkledWords
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roller disco meets roller derby.<br/>Delphine meets Cosima.<br/>Skaters.<br/>I hope you see where this is going...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Newton's First Law of Motion

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I've been knocking around on here reading OB fanfiction for a few months now but never had the courage to post anything.  
> Because of the amazing writing here, I am now no longer able to listen to pretty much any of the music I love without some kind of Cophine scenario popping into my head, so I wrote this as a bit of a purge and a bit of fun...hopefully.
> 
> Please forgive any mistakes, as a friend has often commented, mate, you type like a chimp.

"Oh Sarah, for the love of all that is unholy, can you please just hurry up?" Cosima's imploring voice was verging on whiny but she was past caring. Way past. At this point she was dragging Sarah bodily through the parking lot towards the run down, 80s throwback shack of a roller rink.  
Cosima tried again "Practice starts in like, two minutes, and you know how crazy harsh Beth gets when we keep her waiting"  
"Erm, so when did you get this bothered about being late for stuff, then?" The pace of Sarah's walk slowed as she spoke, she knew only too well why Cosima was so desperate to get inside the rink and it had nothing at all to do with punctuality. She also knew how much she was irritating her eager friend but was enjoying winding her up far too much to make things easier on her just yet. Cosima didn't take the bait. She knew getting into it with Sarah could only prolong her agony so she simply slipped behind her and gave an encouraging but gentle push. "I'm trying the whole, 'being on time for things' on for size, see how it fits" Cosima quietly replied, avoiding Sarah's always hawk-like gaze. "So help a sister out and lets get inside can we?"

 

The two friends fell into step with each other and walked the final 50 metres towards the entrance side by side. Just as they reached the smeared glass doors, a smirk broke out across Sarah's face. It was her brother Felix who had first clued her in about Cosima's new 'interest' a couple of weeks ago. Well, he'd actually told her about a new blonde dancer who'd started showing up recently and impressed the hell out of him; not an easy thing to do with Fee who's snark is most definitely worse than his bite when it comes to ladies taking up space on his dancefloor. How had he described her again? Sarah couldn't quite remember but she did recall him saying he'd "pretty much like to be her." Since then, Sarah had looked out for the girl who'd managed to impress her little bro so much and whilst looking out for her, she also spotted Cosima 'looking out' for her too.

 

Cosima was the smartest person Sarah knew. She could comprehend and excitedly illustrate ideas that she herself could barely pronounce, let alone follow. Cosima's love of life and all its mysteries was what had drawn Sarah to her but my God, when it came to relationships, the girl had no chill. None at all. For all of her obvious intelligence, Cosima could no more hide her emotions than Sarah could process String Theory.

 

Despite the helpful push, Sarah had all but stopped walking and began to rub at the front stopper of one of the skates she had slung around her neck. With the faintest hint of the same smirk still playing on her lips she declared "Oh man, these are only two weeks old and there's a chunk out of this already. Look." She flung the skate in Cosima's general direction, arm blocking her access to the metal door handle. "I don't remember me doing anything that would have scuffed them up like this, do you?" She enquired of her rapidly angering buddy. "Jesus Sarah, what are you _doing_ to me? I have no idea. You usually kick seven kinds of crap out of someone or something in there." She jabbed her finger towards the tantalisingly out of reach door then looked up at the dusky sky, closed her eyes and sighed "How are we still out here?" Cosima's voice was raised at the last question and left Sarah in no doubt she'd made her point. Sarah had known Cosima for the last six years. She knew her friend's moods by heart, consequently, she also knew just when to call it quits on a wind up like this one. She placed her hands on a truly frustrated Cosima's shoulders, who twitched to try and shrug them off but when she met Sarah's smiling eyes with her own, realised Sarah's actions had another motive. "We're still out here because you won't tell me why you really want to get in there so bloody much."

 

Cosima dropped her gaze and began to play with one of the rings on her left hand. "I'm not an idiot you know, Cos. I've seen you eyeing up that tall blonde who skates here. You're so smitten, you're starting to glow when she's near you, I swear" Cosima contemplated denying it but she knew Sarah was no fool. She also knew now that this conversation had started, there was no way out of it. Sarah had always been a dog with a bone when she had her teeth into something like this. After a few seconds of silence, Cosima gave in "I do _not_  glow" she said, finally as she turned and made her way over to the weather worn wooden picnic table to the left of the roller rink, dropped her skates to the ground with thud and flopped onto the bench. Sarah followed and sat on the opposite side of the table to her pensive friend where she waited until she was ready to open up.

 

"I don't know what to tell you, Sarah." Cosima began in an uncharacteristically tentative voice. "I've never seen anyone so...so fucking awesome!" Sarah couldn't help but smile at her friend's dramatic shift in tone. She raised an eyebrow and let her go on "I know what you're thinking right now, it's Cosima, the girl who falls for people after the first conversation but I swear, it's not like that. I haven't even spoken to her properly. We've had no more of an exchange than a smile as she leaves the rink and we step on for practice. I know nothing about her. I think she sometimes hangs out with Ali and Felix's dancers but just kinda comes here to dance. I saw her a few weeks ago when I was here getting new wheels fitted by Art. The way she moved was unbelievable." At this, Cosima's right hand swept across in front of her as if to illustrate the ease of the glide. "You know how it gets in there, all cliquey and bitchy between the different groups of dancers and friends and whatever but she wasn't having any part of that bullshit, she just did her thing, you know? Danced and looked so happy and tranquil and hot! Super, super hot." Cosima's voice trailed off at this as she looked up and to her left, lost in the memory of her description.

 

Sarah let her daydream for a moment and then gently asked "Sounds great, so what's the problem?" Cosima exhaled loudly. "How long have we been coming here, Sarah? It's gotta be at least, like, six years." She paused and Sarah nodded in confirmation. "This place is our place. We come here every week and just let loose. Nothing matters for those two hours. We laugh and fight and we do our best for each other and it's so special. When we're in there, we rule that rink." Cosima jerked her head towards the building and Sarah smiled again. "We complain about how broken down it is, how funky the locker rooms smell, how crappy Art's food is and whatever but when it comes down to it we love this place. Don't we?" Sarah grinned at the affectionate way her friend had managed to so perfectly summarise all the best worst qualities of the little broken down roller rink that had featured in so many of the greatest times in her own life. "Yeah, so we love it. What does that have to do with your blonde dancer?" Cosima looked down at her hands again and spun the silver ring on her left index finger "I can't have this place ruined, Sarah." Her hands stilled and she continued. "Say I talk to her, we connect and I date her. What if it doesn't work out? Then this little place of ours is trashed. It would be tainted forever and I don't think I could take that. No," she paused and her voice got a little softer "I know I couldn't" Cosima leaned back, throwing her arms out at her sides to support her weight and signalling the end of her thought.

 

Sarah took the cue Cosima had given and was about to respond, when the door to the rink was opened and out stepped the person they had spent the last ten minutes discussing. Sarah's eyes shot to Cosima, Cosima's shot to the blonde who merely smiled for the briefest second before turning away from them and striding across the parking lot. By the time Cosima's eyes met Sarah's once more, the frustration that had been there before was replaced by dejection. 'Sad puppy' Cosima had always been more than she could take.

 

"D'you know what?" Sarah finally offered. "You are way, way overthinking this. You haven't spoken to this girl and you're already writing the whole thing off. You look miserable sitting here. You don't want roller derby trashed but look, you're already starting to spend your time here all weirded out. And you're doing this to yourself!" Cosima's shoulders had slumped by now and Sarah knew she needed to recover this fast. She took a second to try and find a less potentially hurtful route to go and tried again. "Don't get me wrong here, you're like, a genius yeah? Science, first, last and always. But you're not being very scientific right now. What was it Newton said about motion?"

 

Cosima couldn't keep the skepticism out of her voice as she asked "Which time?"

"Oh come on, Cos. Work with me here! Don't I at least get some credit for reaching out with physics?" Cosima was laughing fully by now. "Definitely" she said "and I'm all ears" Sarah had a growing suspicion that Cosima was taking the opportunity to get a little payback for her earlier teasing but figured she'd set off on this course and had to see it through. Hopefully without making too much of a fool of herself in the process. "The one about inertia" she declared.

"An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force?" Cosima clarified. "Yeah, that one." But before Sarah could go on, Cosima interrupted; her face every shade of incredulous, "Can I just say, this is the single most surreal thing that has happened between us like, ever! We are discussing the laws of physics, in a parking lot. And you are totally holding your own by the way."

 

"My point is" Sarah went on, trying but not quite succeeding to keep the pride at Cosima's compliment from seeping into her voice "you have to see how the inertia thing applies to your situation. If you do nothing about what's happening, you are gonna stay stuck in this state you're in. Distracted and unhappy. If you do something about it though, your outcome is going to change." Sarah was beginning to lose a little confidence in her assertion but decided she had to try to make it work. "I'm no science geek like you, far from it, but when I heard that law in class I took notice. Not of the science, just the idea. It makes sense to live like that, yeah? When something isn't how you want it to be, apply some pressure and then see how things turn out. If you don't, nothing's ever gonna change, right?"

 

"And what if I apply this pressure you're talking about and I don't get the outcome I want?" Cosima asked skeptically. "Then at least you know where you stand and you can move forward. You're not happy now so what's a little rejection from a stranger, eh? It's not like you've never been there before!" Sarah was grinning now, partly at the shade she'd just thrown at her friend but mostly that she'd seen her Newton idea through and pulled it off pretty nicely. "You know what else though? What if you maybe end up getting exactly what you want?"

 

Cosima sat still for a moment before leaning forward onto the tabletop towards her friend. The notion that she now had to take action was beginning to percolate, but she no longer felt quite so anxious. The way Sarah could cut through her bullshit and get right to the heart of what she needed didn't surprise her in the least, it had always been that way with them. But Newton's first law of motion? Really? She realised then that her friend would probably never stop surprising her and felt so grateful for that.

 

"So in this little experiment of yours what am I then, the object or the unbalanced force?" Cosima teased, chuckling. "Erm, technically, you're the object but I've seen you skate remember; you're definitely an unbalanced force" Sarah laughed.

 

Finally, the two rose from the picnic table and made for the entrance of the rink; by now they were almost half an hour late for practice and knew Beth would throw a shit fit and make them do her most boring drills for at least the next hour.

As Cosima reached for the door handle Sarah's voice stopped her once more "Listen, Cos. If you tell Art I said I love this stupid place, I swear to God I will end your skating days forever."

Cosima grinned "No problem, I won't mention it." She paused for a second pulling at the rough metal handle and entering the ramshakle building. She wanted to have enough space between Sarah and herself to be out of arm's reach before following up with "I am totally telling everyone we know you just used science to make an argument though."


	2. We can be us, just for one day.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A slight detour.  
> Sorry if this puts a few folks off. But also, not sorry at all.
> 
> Sarah, Cosima, Felix.  
> Bowie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, this is a pretty big departure from the story I started.  
> The characters and scenario are still pretty much the same but, after events this week, this was where my head was so I just went with it.

"Well, that certainly sucked as much we thought it would" Sarah stated emphatically whilst rubbing the bottom her back, a grimace of pain etched across her features.  
"Tell me about it!" Cosima replied; her left hand gripping her right shoulder as she rotated it slowly. "I swear if Beth ever went into the military or whatever, she could totally torture any information she needed to get out of anybody with some of those drills she put us through tonight. That session was brutal."

The two friends crossed the roller rink car park slowly and in silence until they reached Cosima's rather beaten up old Cavalier. Whilst Cosima unlocked the driver's side door with her key, Sarah looked at her friend over the roof of the car, the beginnings of a smile played on her lips as Cosima dropped the backpack she had been carrying to the ground. She looked up into Sarah's eyes sheepishly before beginning the now familiar ritual of yanking furiously at the door handle until it finally gave way and granted her entry. Sarah rolled her eyes and laughed softly to herself whilst Cosima leaned across to open the passenger door before she got inside herself, slumping into the seat as if her aching body were made of lead.

Both girls reached for their seatbelts but before Sarah could click hers into place, Cosima announced "You know, you could always walk home if my ride is a source of such comedy for you." Sarah was careful to remove all traces of any tone from her voice before she replied with a simple "What?"  
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Every time we get into my car I can feel your look." Cosima went on. "This car has character. Every bump, dink and scrape on this beauty has its own story and I'd appreciate you showing her a little more love and a little less disdain."

"Are you serious? _She_ is a 1996 Cavalier, Cos, hardly an American classic." But Sarah knew she was on thin ice here and really didn't fancy walking home on aching legs. "You're right though, this car has been part of some wicked nights, yeah. I should show a little respect."

They set off and Sarah played with the radio until she found a song they both agreed on. She then retrieved her phone from her pocket and began to scroll through her messages.  
"Hey Cos, is there and chance you drop me at Bobby's Diner instead of home? I've got this weird message from Fee about some 'apocalyptic event'" she made the air quotes around the last words to reassure Cosima she could never be so dramatic herself. "God knows what that means but I reckon I could ask him about his new blonde dancer friend and see if he'd be willing to do a bit of digging and maybe find out what her story is."

Cosima's eyes scanned right at this. She definitely wanted more info but was deeply unconvinced that Felix was the best way to get it. Discretion had never been one of his most notable qualities and Cosima didn't want her business discussed by any more people than were absolutely necessary. "Still," she thought, "he has more reason to talk to her than anyone else I know" and figured he couldn't do any harm.

"Yeah, no problem. Bobby's is on the way. Do you think he would?" She finally replied after a long moment's thought. "Felix? Become part of what he loves to call the 'lesbian melodrama' of our little social group? Are you joking, he'd love it!" Sarah replied with a grin.

Cosima was not particularly happy at having her situation labelled as 'lesbian melodrama' but figured she didn't have very much to lose at this point apart from maybe, her dignity. She decided the best course of action would be to go inside with Sarah and make her case for herself though; at least try to control the narrative a little and limit the potential damage to her ego by talking to Felix herself.

As she made the final left turn into the parking lot of Bobby's Diner and parked up, Cosima buried her misgivings at the bottom of her stomach and instead asked  "So, what d'you think this apocalypse of Fee's is then?" By now the two friends were almost at the diner's front door.  
"Who knows." Sarah replied with a shrug "At this point it could be anything from Bobby's out of vanilla coke to he's committed some kind of felony."

It didn't take them long to spot Felix. He sat in their usual booth in the furthest right hand corner of the diner, head in his hands with a pile of coins spread around him on the table in front of him looking as if the world had ended. The girls exchanged a look which seemed to say 'this could be legit, awful' before slipping into the booth with the crestfallen boy; Cosima right at his side and Sarah opposite.  

"What's up, bruv?" Sarah asked putting a gentle hand on Felix's arm for a brief second.

When Felix lifted his head, both girls were shocked to see the kind of black smudges around his eyes that could only have been made by tears. Sarah began to panic at this; her brother never cried. A cold feeling began to creep up her spine.

"He's dead" Felix finally said. Sarah's mind began to race "Who is, Fee?" was all she could manage; her eyes flicked to Cosima for a moment and her panic was not eased by the confusion and dread she saw reflected in her friend's face.

"David Bowie" Felix finally replied, and he slumped forward, head in hands again, as if the words had struck him physically.

At this, both Cosima and Sarah closed their eyes and exhaled breaths they had been holding in anticipation of the bombshell they expected to drop. Despite the relief they clearly felt that Felix hadn't been talking about anyone they knew, they were both fully aware of the massive influence Bowie had had on Felix.

Just then the song that had been playing since they arrived ended. Felix grabbed a handful of the coins from the table and fed them swiftly into the mini jukebox selector that stood against the wall at the side of their table. He punched in a number and the iconic keyboard/bass break from the beginning of 'Ashes to Ashes' filled the air.

"How long have you been here, Fee?" Cosima finally asked, not really knowing what else to say.  
"About 8 songs long" he replied. "How could this happen? Some people are supposed to last forever, you know?  
Bowie is more than just his music. He made it ok to be different. He embraced it and celebrated it. A Brixton boy, just like me, who made it cool for men to experiment with art and fashion and... I can't believe it." Felix sank further into his seat with a deep sigh.

Sarah gave Cosima a pleading look which almost screamed "do something". She'd never been good at dealing with emotions whether they were her own or other people's. Seeing her little brother in this state was too much and she needed Cosima to help him out, fast.

Cosima put her arm around his shoulder and gave Felix a squeeze.  
"He made some amazing music, dude. Everything you've just said is right on, but you're looking at it all wrong." Felix turned to face Cosima fully. "Nothing Bowie did in his life will ever be forgotten. Look how much he means to you. He means the same to millions all over the world. The guy is a legend. So many bands would not exist without the path he trod first and the trail he blazed for them follow."

At this, Felix sat up straight. "You're right." He said finally. "Sad has never been my colour." He took a napkin from the dispenser on their table and ran a corner of it around the edges of his eyes removing most of the smudges that betrayed his grief. "Would you mind staying here a bit longer so we can play a few more tracks? I wanna listen to them with a better perspective and with my roller derby bitches."

"Course we can." Sarah replied immediately. Sitting here like this with her brother and best friend, she was happy to do. "Rebel Rebel next though, yeah?" she asked.  
"Then Starman, obvs" Cosima added.

Felix had visibly cheered up and smiled warmly at the friends who had brought him so deftly out from the cloud he'd sat under for the last hour.  
"Whatever you like, ladies." Felix declared with a smile , pushing some of his jukebox coin pile towards each of them. "So, what's new with you two?"

A huge smile spread across Sarah's face. "You know what? It's funny you should ask because Cosima has an undercover mission for you , if you fancy it!"

"Lesbian melodrama?!" Felix almost squealed "I'm all kinds of in for that!  Who is she and what are we doing?" He asked excitedly.

Cosima rolled her eyes so far they almost came out of her head.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope non-Bowie fans who read chapter one will forgive the self indulgence and stay with the story. 
> 
> I promise Delphine will make a proper first appearance in the next chapter and things will move forward.  
> Thanks again for reading. 
> 
> RIP, Starman.


	3. Quite Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First meeting...finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope it's worth the extra wait.

Practice wasn't for an hour but Cosima had been leaning against the back wall of 'Art's Roller Rink' for the last fifteen minutes. Felix had been as good as his word, and in the five days since she last saw him, he had gone about his mission to find out more about the new blonde dancer at their rink with serious skill. What he had discovered did nothing to dampen Cosima's eagerness to get to know her better. Delphine had moved here two months ago from France, was in her last year at school before university, just like she and Sarah were, and, Felix took great joy in telling her that Delphine was 'quite something.' Cosima had pushed Felix on this point, tried every persuasive method she could think of to get him to elaborate on the vague and annoying teaser but all she got for her trouble was one of Felix's most enigmatic smiles and a "You'll see, darling."

Going over the recent exchanges had done nothing to settle the nervous energy crackling through Cosima's veins. Not even the joint she'd been smoking for the past few minutes had seemed to to have its usual mellowing effect. She tipped her head back a little further and inhaled sweet warm smoke once more, closing her eyes in an attempt to focus her mind. Just then, her phone rang and the image of Sarah's moody face scowled up at her. Cosima had always liked that photo because, as she told Sarah, it captured her 'inner bitch' perfectly. Sarah's response of "bollocks" always popped into Cosima's mind whenever Sarah called and never failed to bring a smile. She swiped the image from the screen and spoke "Hey. I'm round back 'meditating'. You here now?" At Sarah's affirmative reply, Cosima simply said "Be right there" before she ended the call and pocketed the phone. She then carefully stubbed her joint out on the wall, pinched the end to be sure it was out and placed it into a beaten up old tobacco tin which she then dropped into her backpack. Shouldering the bag, she took a final deep breath and made her way to the front entrance where Sarah waited.

"What's the plan then?" Sarah enquired with a supportive smile. She knew Cosima was about to meet Delphine for the first time, in a matter of minutes. Thanks to Felix's manipulation of the situation, they would meet in Art's burger bar before practice and, all being well, spend the night after practice watching movies at Mrs S's. 

"No plan as such. We just go in, act like this is the most natural situation that's ever taken place and see how it goes I guess." The nonchalance Cosima had been trying to thread into her voice, unfortunately hadn't made it past the uncomfortably constricted feeling in her chest and the words came out in a kind of strangled squeak. Sarah's smile became a look of concern, she hadn't seen her friend as nervous as this in a really long time. "Hey, you're back to the overthinking stage here Cos. It's just a conversation. No pressure, no expectations. No worries, yeah? Lets go in." And before Cosima could make any more response than an uncomfortable smile, Sarah had guided them through the smeared glass doors and inside.

Once inside the girls made right for Art's burger bar. Cosima's eyes scanned the place twice, searching out each scruffy plastic table and chairs but found no sign of either Felix or Delphine. She felt a little panic begin to rise in her and gripped the arm of Sarah who by now was walking a few steps in front of her, and pullled her back. "I thought Fee said they would be in here." She stated not caring at this point about the desperation in her tone. "Where are they, Sarah? Felix said they'd be in here" Sarah's initial impulse if she saw anyone else behaving this uncoolly would be to mock or at least wind them up a little tighter but seeing Cosima's disappointment written across her face in magic marker like this, she couldn't add to her friend's woes. "You have got to try and get some control here, Cosima. Felix will be here in a minute, he probably didn't expect Ms 'Kinda Always Late' to be here yet. You can _not_ be in this much of a state when they come over to us." Cosima nodded in agreement and breathed in slowly. "Why don't you go get us a couple of cokes, yeah? Do something normal, talk to Art for a minute." 

"Alright, I will" was all Cosima replied before she turned on her heel and walked over to the counter. Over her shoulder she heard Sarah shout "Real coke, yeah? None of that Zero shite you're always trying to sneak me." As she waited for her turn Cosima's thoughts began to calm. "Get your shit together, Niehaus. You're about to have a conversation!! Just a conversation. You're a fucking genius. Talking is not a challenge!" 

When she reached the front of the line, Art called her over with his usual cheery smile. "And what can I do for our star Jammer? What'll it be?" Cosima couldn't help but grin. "Two Coke Zeros please, boss" she replied with a similarly genuine and warm smile. Art Bell was one of the best men she knew. Sweet and kind and he absolutely loved their roller derby team. His place had been her home from home for years and the same was true for the bunch of misfits and characters who came together to make up the Bell-a-Donnas. She knew what roller derby had given to her but she suspected Art got just as much of a thrill from their success as she did. "Here you go" Art said and handed the two drinks over, drawing Cosima from her reverie. Cosima offered her cash in payment but Art simply waved it away with a sweep of the hand and a "Catch me later." 

Upon her return to Sarah; Felix and co were still nowhere to be seen but Cosima felt a whole lot more calm. She handed Sarah her drink and a straw and watched as she fed it through the lid and took a long sip. "That's the real stuff." Sarah sighed in pleasure "I'm sorry Cos, but if you don't have real coke then what's the point? That other stuff tastes like washing up suds." Cosima chuckled at the secret victory she had over Sarah. "If you say so" she replied but before she could say any more she felt a presence to her left. Felix, Alison and Delphine had arrived some time during the conversation. Cosima felt her back stiffen a little. "Hello ladies" Felix announced an unmistakable glint in his immaculately lined eyes.

Before Cosima could attempt speech, Sarah greeted her brother with a simple "Hello" following up with "Who's your friend?" nodding her head in Delphine's direction as she did so. At this, a nervous looking Delphine shifted her weight onto her left side and gave a small smile before gently biting her bottom lip.

Felix picked up Sarah's cue turning to Delphine to say "Delphine, I'd like you to meet two of the best ladies in my life; this punk rock throwback somehow making the oldest leather jacket in the state, and band tee combo work for her... every damn day, is my sister Sarah and the lady to her left is the smartest person I know, the super excitable and always curious Cosima Niehaus; geek in residence of our little group." Both girls nodded, Cosima somewhat less enthusiastically, at the intro she'd been given than her friend. Felix turned to face a rather overwhelmed looking Delphine before continuing "Ladies, I give you Delphine Cormier. Doctor of disco, and French as French can be; from the tips of those spectacular curls to the end of her perfectly pedicured toes." By this point Delphine blushed a deepening shade of crimson and Cosima, now ascending fully into chivalrous mode, needed no more invitation to step in.

"Hey Delphine." she offered by way of a distraction, smiling as warmly as she could. "Don't mind Felix. He sometimes gets a little _carried away_. So, how are you settling in over here? Our little town must be pretty different from what you're used to." As the question left her lips, Cosima moved over in her chair a little, subconsciously gesturing for Delphine to come join her in the open seat beside hers. Delphine obliged her with a grateful smile and slipped gracefully into the indicated space.

"I'm settling in pretty well I think. So far I would say my biggest faux pas would have to be wearing the same shirt as Felix to the roller disco a couple of weeks ago."

Cosima's eyes narrowed incredulously at this wholly unexpected reply. But before she could ask for clarification, Felix swooped in with an emphatic "It's true. My black and white zig-zag crew neck."

A beaming Delphine followed up with "The worst part of it all was that Felix looked far better in it than I did!"  
At this, everyone around the table began to laugh. And Felix gave a small bow, crossing his right arm in front of his waist as he did so.  
"Oh Delphine" Alison interjected "He did not!!"  
"What can I tell you, ladies? You cannot deny; when I wear clothes, I _wear_ them." Nods and laughter followed again and Cosima and Sarah caught each other's eyes briefly. Sarah gave her friend an almost imperceptible couple of nods to accompany the smile she wore which Cosima knew meant she liked what she'd seen of Delphine so far.

Cosima returned her gaze to the blonde at her side at which point Sarah asked "So, who's gonna be joining us at S's for movie night later then? Ladies, you're all welcome. Felix, you live there so I'm assuming you're in. Anyway, sort it out amongst yourselves, yeah, cuz me and Cos need to go get changed for practice. Nice meeting you Delphine. You ready Cos?"  
She stood up to leave and couldn't help but smile at the sight of a clearly smitten Cosima simply staring at an oblivious Delphine's profile.

At Delphine's polite reply of "Merci, Sarah", Cosima almost jumped, unaware any question had been asked of her.

Noticing Sarah and by now everyone else looking in her direction  "Are we leaving?" was all she could manage as she pushed her chair out from the table.

"See you later derby bitches" Felix interjected by way of a goodbye, but also a distraction to give Cosima a little time to gather herself. "See you at home."

Cosima, more than a little reluctantly, said her goodbyes to the group who were staying at the table and joined Sarah to make the short walk the locker room. They hadn't moved more than ten strides away before Cosima whispered to her friend "She looks like that, she sounds like that _and_ she's whip smart funny too?" It wasn't really a question but Sarah answered anyway "Yeah, she's definitely more than just a pretty face."

Before the two friends could round the corner to their locker room, Cosima gave one last backward glance to the table they had left. As she did, Delphine laughed animatedly at something Felix said to her. From the disapproving look Alison wore, it must have been something outrageous. Cosima's stomach flipped a little as she saw Delphine look so completely captivated. She made herself a promise there and then; to get Delphine to look at her that same way or die trying. 

Sarah, as if reading Cosima's thoughts somehow, left her behind as she rounded the corner and with a chuckle declared, "You are so fucked."


	4. It Follows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Movie night...

By the time Sarah, Cosima, Beth and Helena arrived at Mrs S's place after their practice session, pizzas had been ordered and Felix and Alison were deeply involved in a rather heated discussion about the direction movie night was going to take.

The girls chose to watch from the safety of the doorway rather than fully enter the room; all pretty curious as to who would win the battle of wills. Felix seemed to have the upper hand so far "Oh come Alison. Moulin Rouge? Really? Isn't that a just a little predictable for Delphine's first time here? Why didn't you just bring Les Miserables and be done? Labyrinth is a classic of our childhood. The nostalgia factor alone should be 'end of discussion' but add Muppets and its case closed." Felix ended his speech with an emphatic nod but Alison was not about to roll over on this one. Knowing that Delphine would be desperate not to offend, she bypassed Felix and aimed her reply squarely at her.

  
"I think we should let Delphine decide this. After all she is our guest tonight. And I have Les Mis in my purse!" Felix barely let her finish before countering with "What do you mean _our_ guest? You don't even live here!"  
Sarah motioned to the others that they should make their presence felt at this point and stop the night descending into a full on cat fight before it even began.  
She announced their arrival with a simple "Oi!" Three heads spun in unison. Sure of their attention, Sarah continued, "Why do we have to go through this performance every single movie night? You know nothing gets decided without all of us here. Anyway, Helena has bought a movie that I reckon beats both of your choices."

Helena stepped forward but instead of offering her choice she glared at Delphine and stated "I do not know this girl. Who is this?" Cosima, noticing Delphine bristle a little and shift uncomfortably in her seat on the left of the sofa, stepped in to respond. "This is Delphine, a friend of Ali and Fee's. And of ours we hope." She offered Delphine a placatory smile before reminding Helena. "We said this in the car." Helena finished giving Delphine the once over and must have been somewhat satisfied as she walked through the room and towards the kitchen replying "I didn't listen. Where is my food?" Cosima turned back to Delphine and gave the introductions for both Beth and Helena and was pleased to see her seem to relax at Beth's offer of a handshake and a "Hi."

Felix's patience was at breaking point by now; he knew there was only a very slim chance his movie would be chosen and he at least wanted to do something "Come on then, what's Helena's movie choice and can we get this thing started? Mrs S will be home by midnight." He also knew Helena had a knack for picking out odd little gems for the group to watch so his interest was at least piqued a little. 

Helena's choice of indie horror 'It Follows' was agreed upon and, much to Cosima's dismay, she took up residence next to Delphine on the couch and sat munching her way through a huge pile of muffins and other assorted cakes, whilst the others tucked into pizza. Cosima threw a serious amount of side eye in her direction but Helena only had eyes for the sweet little friends she shoveled into her mouth at this point. 

Felix dropped the lights and the group settled in to watch. Beth and Alison shared an armchair, Sarah and Felix a couch and Cosima cursed her bad luck at ending up so agonizingly near to Delphine yet so far away. She had to content herself with stealing glances around Helena's transfixed form and hoping that Delphine hadn't heard the couple of times Helena had chided her with "Watch, movie." And "You're missing best parts." 

After the movie had finished Delphine made her way outside to the front porch. After what Cosima considered to be a decent amount of waiting time, she followed. She found Delphine sitting on the top step of their stoop her long legs reaching down another couple. She was looking at her phone. Cosima hung back a little and watched as she typed and sent a quick message before replacing the phone in the pocket of her jeans. On looking up she noticed Cosima and smiled warmly in her direction. 

"Well. That was certainly, er...intense!" Delphine said with a rueful frown. 

"Yep. That's one way to describe it. Another way would be to say it was totally freaking terrifying! It's gonna be a while before I go to the beach again" Cosima declared with an emphatic chopping sweep of her hand.

"Oui, or to a swimming pool!" Delphine chuckled gesturing for Cosima to take up the space on the step next to her by patting it "I did like it though. Did you?" 

"Mmhmm" Cosima nodded as she took a moment to appreciate Delphine's interest in her opinion "The weird score really made some of those scenes almost unbearably tense."

"Yes!" Delphine agreed emphatically.  "You're right. It made me squirm in my seat many times"

Cosima had noticed this herself during the movie and mentally kicked herself once more for not being quick enough off the mark to snag the seat right next to her.   
"So. Whatcha doin out here, Delphine?" Cosima enquired in as level a voice as she could muster.

"Ah, you have caught me." Delphine replied with the kind of smile that could stop traffic. "After a fright like this, I like to smoke a nice little cigarette! My worst vice. But what can I say?" She shrugged her shoulders, lifting both hands palms up as she did so in a gesture of mock submission and indifference.

Cosima saw the opportunity to extend this playfulness and placed one of her hands on her chest in shock as she gasped and said "Del-phine Cormier! You mean to tell me that the straight A uber student is not without vices? I am shocked to my core!"

The wide smile with which Cosima had delivered her fake lecture had spread to Delphine now, "It is true. It is a source of great disappointed to both myself and my parents but we all live with it as well as we can" she replied trying to squeeze a little sincerity into her voice.

"Your parents know? That is incredibly continental" Cosima stated. And with a twinkle in her eye followed up with "Did they fume when they found out?"

It took only a second for Delphine to catch on to Cosima's joke. She laughed "Did you just make a French pun?"

"That depends." She replied. "If you thought it was lame, no way. If you liked it then, absolutely!" Cosima stated with a grin.

Delphine's smile widened "It was totally lame, but I liked it anyway. And that was my first French wordplay since moving here so you get big credit for that!"

For a moment, the two simply sat smiling at each other before Delphine broke their gaze to light her cigarette. She offered one to Cosima who politely declined and retrieved the half a joint she'd saved from earlier which she then lit. The two smoked together in a surprisingly comfortable silence until Cosima broke it to ask Delphine about her post graduation plans.

"I have applied to several universities. Some here and some in Europe. I haven't really decided where I want to study yet but I am almost sure of what the focus will be."

Cosima was both blown away by the certainty with which Delphine spoke about her future plans and almost equally disheartened about her own indecision surrounding what next year would become. 

As if sensing her companion's unease, Delphine took one final drag on her cigarette before dropping it to the ground to put it out, she then moved down a step to be in Cosima's eyeline and asked gently "You look so serious, mon amie. Are you not excited about the thought of furthering your studies somewhere new next year?" 

Cosima fidgeted uneasily before taking a long last pull of her own from the almost spent joint. "I dunno. I'm in a kind of state of flux about the whole thing really. It will be crazy cool to focus my studies right down to the things that really get me fired up the most but I'm finding the whole process pretty daunting if I'm honest. How will I know if what I choose is what I'm supposed to be doing? What if I make my selections and then hate what I've chosen?" Cosima was beginning to regret smoking earlier and leaving not enough for now as she could feel her once mellow mood start to fade, and the twinge of anxiety start to pull at her stomach. This feeling was becoming a regular occurrence whenever she gave any serious thought to her future. "How did you decide what you want to do, Delphine? You seem so unfazed by it all."

"I found narrowing down my field of study incredibly difficult, Cosima. I'm still not entirely sure that the decisions I will make will be the right ones but I do know that I will be studying in a field that means something to me, that makes me excited about what the future could become and where that path could lead me and that was how I made my choices." Cosima saw an intensity in Delphine's eyes that she hadn't seen before. All traces of the playful nature she had shown thus far were replaced with a gaze that perfectly echoed the passion with which she spoke. Her eyes never left Cosima's as she continued to explain "I always knew that medicine was my calling but whether I should focus my life in the laboratory or the hospital took an awful lot of soul searching. The idea that through research and lab based experimentation I could be part of something as world altering as finding a cure for cancer, dementia or some other genetically debilitating disease was so very exciting but a career as a practicing medical doctor would allow me to use any skills I have practically on real people. To be face to face with a patient, to see and be a part of their recovery or to offer comfort to them when things are at their worst, that is a real privilege, non?"  

In the face of such honesty Cosima couldn't help but reciprocate "I know science will be a big part of my future. Well, it will _be_ my future. But I really like my life right now. I have a great group of friends. We share in each other's best times and pick each other up when we stumble and fall. I'm pretty sure at least two of them would kill for me!" Both girls chuckled momentarily at this idea "But none of them will be with me next year at college. They have their own plans and our roads are gonna diverge pretty dramatically. I don't know if I'm ready for that." Cosima paused more than a little taken aback at how candid she was being. But now she had started she wanted to give voice to the thought that had begun to keep her awake some nights, when she allowed it any consideration at all. "What if I'm only doing so well at school because I have so many people to lean on?" Cosima had no idea why she was telling Delphine all of this. These were her secret innermost fears and she hadn't even really allowed these thoughts space in her own head. But there was something in Delphine's unfaltering gaze that felt to Cosima that she was looking into her soul and seeing her truest heart.

Before Cosima could say any more, Delphine began "When I left France I was top of my class in almost every subject I was studying. School has always been a pleasure to me because it opens my eyes to new ideas and new experiences. You get that, yes? I didn't have lots of friends like you have here around you tonight, but I did have two very close ones; Jacques and Amelie. I missed them terribly for the first few weeks, didn't think I would be able to manage without seeing their faces and just being near to them and able to share with them all of my news and the small insignificant day to day things we'd always tell each other."

"So what do you do?" Cosima asked.  

"I tell them anyway!" Delphine responded with a small laugh. "We Skype all the time. We call, we email, we text every day. And we know we will absolutely see each other at holidays. Amelie joked just last night that we speak more now than when we lived in the same town. I told her a couple of moments ago about the movie we watched tonight. Just as I would if I were back home."

Cosima was unconvined "It can't be the same though" 

Delphine became serious once more "No, you're right of course, it isn't the same. It takes more effort to stay close to my friends and keep them in my life. But when you love someone you do whatever it takes, non? Nothing can stay the same for ever can it Cosima?"

No reply was offered by Cosima. She simply echoed the shrug Delphine had given earlier. This time, however, the indifference she was trying to emulate came across as denial. 

Delphine tried a differerent tack "From what Felix has said, it's clear you have a remarkable mind. You owe it to yourself to see what adventures your studies will take you on. It's your life Cosima and you should get everything you want from it. Don't you think?" Delphine's intense gaze had not wavered for a second. The combination of the seriousness of their discussion, their proximity to each and the softness in tone Delphine's voice had taken caused Cosima's chest to hitch a little and her breathing to waver just for a second. "Look at what I'd have missed out on if I hadn't left France? Movie nights with new friends, but worst of all, I certainly wouldn't be sitting on this porch having such a lovely conversation with you." Upon the realisation that she had perhaps overstated her position, a slight blush began to colour Delphine's cheeks and she tried to backtrack a little "Well. Erm. I've found it pretty lovely. I obviously cannot speak for you!" She declared with a small cough.

Cosima smiled as warmly as she could. The sight of Delphine looking a little less composed than she had for the whole rest of the night was oddly romantic. And totally encouraging. "Lovely pretty much covers it I'd say." Cosima replied widening her smile to a grin. "And I have to say, I think your future patients are gonna be incredibly lucky to be treated by you, Dr Cormier."

Delphine's blush deepened considerably but she did not drop her eyes form the brunette as she stated emphatically "So will all of the amazing new friends you'll make wherever you end up studying next year."

A silence fell upon the two once more but this time the ease with which they had shared it earlier was replaced with a different feeling. Neither of them were quite sure what it signified but both felt something shift. Almost imperceptible. Possibly nothing. But maybe everything.

An excited shout came from the window behind them as Felix leaned out and summoned them to return "Come on ladies. We are about to enter the Labyrinth. The Goblin King waits for no-one!" Both gave a quick and guilty sounding "Okay" in response and stood up to go inside. As Delphine smoothed the back of her jeans, she looked Cosima square in the eye and asked "It's Sarah and Helena isn't it?" Cosima gave a quizzical look in response but before she could ask for clarification on Delphine's question the blonde continued "The two who would kill for you?" 

Cosima gave her toothiest grin and enigmatically replied "Wow, I hadn't even considered those two. I guess I was wrong, it's four of them who would kill for me!" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Give 'It Follows' a look if you like horror movies. It's a belter.  
> Absolutely do not give it a look if you're of a nervous disposition!
> 
> Not sure when the next update will be I'm afraid. Day job is kicking my ass atm.  
> Not too long I hope.


	5. The Undercurrents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Movie night...part deux.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no coherent thoughts to preview this with so...hope you enjoy.

The sight that greeted Cosima and Delphine upon their return inside was pretty adorable. Alison and Beth had fallen asleep on each other sitting at the two-seater couch, farthest right in the room. Helena and Fee were stretched out on their stomachs on the floor directly in front of the TV, sharing a pile of cushions. Felix enthusiastically explaining the movie's premise to an increasingly concerned looking Helena whilst Sarah sat on the right hand side of the  three-seater couch directly behind them.  

  

 

"She should not have let baby near that man. She is his sestra, she has duty to look after him." Helena stated, unimpressed. The irony of Helena munching her way impassively through one of the most tense horror movies she had seen in a long time was not lost on Sarah who responded "Well, it's a bloody good job she did really isn't it cuz if she babysat for him like she was meant to than it'd be a pretty crappy film, yeah?"  

 

Cosima and Delphine had made their way over to the couch by now and sat down next Sarah; this time Cosima making sure she took the spot nearest to Delphine, in the middle seat. Not even ten minutes had passed before Sarah  became fidgety, she had never been a huge fan of this movie and when the muppets came out in force, she was up and headed out the door asking the others if they wanted drinks. Only Cosima replied in the affirmative and upon her return from the kitchen, Sarah took the opportunity to say goodnight to everyone and slip away upstairs to get some sleep.  

 

That a similar tiredness was beginning to creep over Delphine had not escaped Cosima. Her head had begun to nod a little about five minutes ago and Cosima had had to stifle a laugh at the sight of her fighting to keep it upright. Upon realising that this was something of a losing battle, Delphine adjusted her position so that she was lower in the seat and the couch itself could prop up her sleepy head. But it wasn't long before she had fallen asleep completely, leaning ever closer to Cosima on her right until her head rested on the brunette's shoulder. Cosima simply sat back and waited for the inevitable but was shocked and not a little alarmed at the reaction she had to Delphine's presence so close to her. She had to admit, the feel of Delphine, head on her shoulder was something she could absolutely get used to. But for all that she liked it, Cosima couldn't help but feel a little guilty that Delphine was unaware of what was going on. She didn't know how she'd react to such unintentional intimacy so soon after them meeting and decided to wake her sleeping companion.     

 

Firstly, Cosima gently moved Delphine back over to the left of the couch. Then, as softly as she could she whispered "Delphine. Hey. Delphine"

Delphine's eyes fluttered open and Cosima saw the confusion at her unfamiliar surroundings play out momentarily across Delphine's face only for it to be replaced with recognition and a sleepy smile. Cosima thought this was the single most adorable sight she had ever seen.

"Je suis désolée mon amie" Delphine apologised, a little embarrassed when she woke more fully "I am no company for you" 

"Don't even worry about it. You're wiped and my bed is calling me too so how about I give you a ride home?" Cosima offered. "Won't Felix be offended if I don't stay until the end of the movie?" Delphine asked. 

They both looked towards Felix and Helena lying together on their cushions in front of the TV, completely oblivious to anything but the the film they were engrossed in. "I think he'll live" Cosima stated with a smile and the two girls made their way out to Cosima's car sending a wave in Felix's direction as they left.

 

They walked side by side towards Cosima's car but as they did, it dawned on Cosima that she could do without Delphine witnessing the whole comedy routine that was the way she had to force open the driver's side door of her car. By way of a distraction, she asked "Hey, Delphine. Do you know much about astronomy?" 

"Not much" came the reply "Why do you ask?" They had reached the car by now.

"I just wondered whether you knew which constellation was Ursa Major" she lied "Is it that one over there?" she said and pointed at a cluster of nothing behind Delphine's head. 

Delphine looked where she had been indicated to and whilst she did, Cosima yanked ferociously at her door handle but it didn't budge. "To be honest," Delphine stated upon turning her gaze back to an increasingly stricken Cosima "I don't really know what I'm looking for." 

"There," Cosima tried again "over to your left" she pointed a little more forcefully than she had intended but it had the desired effect and Delphine turned to look once more.

Cosima bent down a little as she did and whispered imploringly at her car door "please don't do this to me. Just open up for me, please!" This time when she tried it, it popped open just as Delphine turned around once more admitting defeat. From over the top of the car Cosima gestured not to worry about it " You know what? I think it was actually a plane." she said, smiling to herself as she got inside.

 

Once seated in Cosima's car, a sudden sense of guilt came over Delphine. She had no idea where her companion lived, this drive could be miles out of Cosima's way. She needed to say something but didn't want to offend. She settled on "Thank you for this, Cosima. But you really don't have to drive me home. I can call a taxi. I had not expected anyone to drive me home tonight" Before she could say more, Cosima had started the engine and set off down the road. Smiling a little as she turned to say "It's no big deal, really. I wouldn't feel right sending you off in a cab in a strange town. So, where to?" 

 

After Cosima confirmed the address, not so far from Art's it turned out, she fiddled a little with the car stereo until she settled on as inoffensive a pop station as she could find which she played out very quietly just to fill the quiet a little. After a few moments of silence where Delphine looked out of the window sleepily and Cosima looked at her sporadically in the strategically re-positioned rear view mirror, marveling at how beautifully this evening had panned out. She was sitting in her car with the object of her affections and she had totally held her own all night. Their conversations, for the most part, had flowed easily and gone into some pretty interesting and meaningful directions. Delphine, as if it was possible, had exceeded her expectations. Not only was she stunningly beautiful but she was wittier and more sensitive than Cosima could have imagined. She knew falling for Delphine was pretty much a certainty at this point and she needed to try and discover whether her passenger was open to this without scaring her away. 

 

Finally Cosima announced "So, full disclosure." Delphine's head turned away from the window to face her and Cosima continued "My giving you a ride home wasn't entirely a selfless act. I kinda wanted to find out where you lived. You know, so that when you invite me over in the future, I'll know where to go." Cosima felt a twinge of anxiety flutter in her stomach, deeply unsure that her deceptively confident sounding words had struck the right balance in their tone between playfulness and confession. 

 

Delphine's gaze was inscrutable for a moment which did nothing to alleviate the tension building inside Cosima. Panic was starting to creep into her mind when Delphine finally replied "Oh. I see." She stated in a quiet voice. Cosima's panic took hold and her knuckles whitened as she gripped the steering wheel. "Subterfuge!"  Delphine exclaimed. Cosima looked over at her passenger, unable, in her alarmed state, to fully discern the tone behind the word she had just heard. When her eyes met Delphine's she saw the same humourous intent she had seen for most of the evening. The same playful smile she had grown to really like, played at Delphine's lips and relief flooded her instantly. "You are double dealing with me? Is your name even really Cosima Niehaus?" 

 Cosima's laughter was heartfelt as she replied "Yes it is. Although I do have another." 

"I knew it!" Delphine stated with conviction. "And what might that be?" 

"Well, we all have names that we use when we compete in roller derby." Cosima answered cryptically. Delphine thought about this for a moment then simply asked "You mean like a wrestler name?" 

Cosima tried everything she could to keep the consternation out of her voice "Er, not exactly. But if it helps you to see it that way... actually, scratch that, I absolutely cannot have myself associated with wrestling Delphine. Not even name-wise!!" They had stopped at traffic lights by now and Cosima stole a sideways glance. Delphine wore the largest grin she had seen her have so far and despite the offense Cosima was feeling she couldn't help but smile back. "Oh, I see. You're mocking my passion. Derby is my heart, Delphine. Why would you do that?" Delphine hadn't finished kidding and followed up, giggling "Do you have a costume too, mon amie, and a catchphrase?"  

The lightheartedness of the exchange was just what Cosima had hoped they would share tonight and she didn't really mind the teasing in the slightest. She knew if she could get Delphine to a derby meet she would see how great it was for herself and also see how masterfully she ruled the rink when in full flow. Spurred on by these thoughts, Cosima seized the opportunity "Have you ever been to a roller derby meet? A competitive one I mean? I'm betting not because if you had you wouldn't talk this way. It's a _sport_ , the results aren't decided beforehand, we grind them out with teamwork and effort. Oh, and it's sexy as hell too!" she added by way of a closing argument.

 

Traffic begun to move and therefore Cosima missed the look of fascination Delphine shot her momentarily before responding "I meant no offense, I was just teasing you." 

"I know" Cosima replied neutrally "but you also kinda don't really know what to make of the whole thing I'd say, so why don't you come and see for yourself? Our first meet of the season is next Saturday then you can judge for yourself." They had arrived at Delphine's place and Cosima parked up by the curb. After pulling on the handbrake, she turned and faced her companion before continuing "Felix and Ali will be watching so you can go with them. And then, when I'm done totally impressing you with my skills, I might let you buy me a burger to make up for the disgraceful way you've ripped into the sport I love!" The words may have suggested offense had been taken but the smile with which they were delivered ensured Delphine would know the invitation was genuine and not offered with any sort of malice. 

 

Delphine considered for a brief moment but she knew, even before speaking, what her reply would be. The description given; "sexy as hell" was not one she would have considered applicable to most sports. But she believed her. She also wouldn't have considered herself much of a sports fan, either. But the way Cosima had spoken intrigued her. Hell, the girl herself had begun to intrigue her massively. Tonight had been great. One of the most fun nights she'd spent since leaving France and she knew most of that could be attributed to spending the majority of it in the company of her chauffeur. Another opportunity to be in her company was something she needed to take. "Okay. You're on." 

"Cool!" Cosima practically yelled in response, regretting her lack of composure instantly.

After a short silence, Delphine added "So, Cosima...what do I get out of this?" Delphine inquired with a slight tilt of her head.

"I don't follow" came the confused reply.

"You're potentially getting dinner bought for you, right? So... what do I get if, however unlikely this may be in light of your earlier conviction, I don't have a good time?" Delphine asked.

 

Cosima's mind began to race a little. Was Delphine flirting? It felt that way. It really felt that way. But she knew she'd been wrong about this sort of thing in the past. Really, _really_ wrong. And she had no intention of blowing a chance with the girl who could be the closet thing to perfection she'd ever met in real life! She steadied herself before making a reply.

"Alright. I guess that's only fair" she began "If you don't have a good time at derby, I will make it my personal responsibility to ensure you have a good time afterwards." Cosima knew the ambiguity in her words was risky but she'd also gambled that that same ambiguity gave her plausible enough deniability to backtrack and play innocent if Delphine seemed spooked in any way. 

She didn't. In fact, Cosima could swear she saw a slight change in Delphine's breathing as she awaited her response. 

 

Delphine felt a little flustered. She wasn't afraid exactly but she was also not naive enough to miss the implication in Cosima's words. 

It was a lot to process, she decided, and she was tired and possibly misreading the situation. Nevertheless, she didn't want to leave without at least acknowledging the proposition. "Okay" she said finally, still unsure of her own response to the turn events had taken in the last five minutes "That sounds much more balanced. Why don't you let me have your number so that if I can't make it for any reason, we can rearrange?" 

 

Handing over her phone willingly, Cosima simply stated "Good idea."  She watched her companion punch in her digits and give a herself a brief call, but she was unsure now whether her previous overture had in fact spooked Delphine as she'd feared, and this was her way of ensuring she had an easy escape route close at hand in the future. 

 

A simple "merci" was all Delphine offered by way of acknowledgement and she unclipped her seatbelt, intent on leaving the car and heading inside. Before she could leave, however she turned back to Cosima and looked at her once more. She saw it then, the briefest hint of disappointment in her eyes. It was present for a mere second, swiftly replaced by the warm smile Delphine had become familiar with. But that brief look of sadness made her lean in and place two small kisses, one on each cheek, of the girl, she confessed to herself, she didn't really want to leave. 

 

"Thank you for taking me home, Cosima" she said, and was gone.

 

Cosima watched Delphine walk up the drive to her house and let herself in. It was only then that she allowed herself to exhale. She closed her eyes, leaned back until her head met the head rest and stayed that way for a few moments to gather herself before the drive home. 

She was about to leave when her phone signalled a text message had come through. She knew before reading it that it would be from Delphine.

 

**Drive safe, mon amie. See you soon :)**

 

Saturday was a thousand years away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming soon...  
> Actual derby.


	6. Sexy As Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part one of two at the Derby meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little shorter than I'd hope to get completed, sincere apologies for that. But I hope it whets the appetite for what's to come.
> 
> The accompanying track to this had to be 'Boys Wanna Be Her' by Peaches if you fancy a listen.  
> Damn, the Whip It soundtrack is strong.

Saturday arrived at last, after what had felt, for both Cosima and Delphine, like one of the longest weeks of their lives. Delphine sat in the crowd, front row right on the finish line. Thanks to some extreme elbow work from Felix backed up with serious death stares and over-pronounced and deeply insincere ‘Thank yous' they had the best seats in the house to watch the winning skaters cross the line. Delphine was delighted, she couldn't wait to see the self-confessed "sexy as hell" performance and to be as close as possible was alright by her.

 

In the locker room behind the scenes, Cosima and Sarah were putting the finishing touches to their outfits of purple plaid tennis skirt over black leggings. Sarah sat adjusting her kneepads for the final time whilst Cosima applied a little more eyeliner in her signature style before sitting beside her to do the same. 

"So, you all set?" Sarah asked. Cosima simply nodded and smiled, raising her eyebrows confidently, before putting on her skate helmet and checking her elbow pads were in place for the final time. Delphine was in her house now. She was the queen of this place and, false modesty be damned, she intended to put on a show for her. She knew this was the calm before the storm, they both did. But they also knew that there was not a single skater on the opposition who was faster or trickier than either of them. What the girls lacked in size they certainly more than made up for in aggression, speed and agility. With Beth and Helena running defence, Art's 'Bell-A-Donnas' made a pretty formidable force. And they knew it.

 

The team huddled up for a final pep talk from Art before he left them to it, in order to perform the master of ceremonies role he completely adored. The four girls waited patiently as each of their opponents were given a more than generous introduction which would culminate in the Art's trademark holler of their collective team name. 

 

Outside, Delphine felt herself getting drawn in to the excitement of the unexpectedly packed out crowd. She, like Felix and Ali was on her feet and the buzz from the expectant spectators was starting to get her more than a little jazzed to see Cosima finally take to the rink. Felix, who stood slightly in front, regularly checked on her and could see for himself the roller derby magic had started to cast it's spell.

The opposition were announced first; each skater given her individual moment of glory to skate the rink and arrive at Art's side before her made the fianl team announcement. “Ladies and Gentlemen give an Art's Roller Rink welcome to our opposition this evening... Skatesaphrenics!!!!" The crowd around Delphine erupted into a chorus of boos and jeers, pretty much lead by Felix and Alison which only subsided when the lights were dipped and Art took to the mic again.

 

"Ok then, people." Art began, leaving a short pause for the room to settle a little. He knew how to work a crowd and tonight he would milk this one for all it was worth.  "It's been a looooong off season but we are finally ready to welcome back our girls. Are you ready for this?" Again the crowd began to scream, this time in approval. The excitement in the air was tangible now and could be felt by both Delphine and the skaters waiting in the wings.

"Alright then. Let’s get them out here."

"First, our Ukrainian devil, the blonde bombshell herself and the most brutally attacking defensive skater I have ever seen.... 'Sugar Crush!' Art practically screamed the last syllables and elongated them as much as he could, his style was whipping the crowd up to the frenzy he desired with ease. Helena launched herself onto the rink wearing their trademark purple tartan skirt, purple cap-sleeved tee and black leggings. She pounded her way around the rink giving the occasional wave and hard stare to the crowd who lapped it up with loud screams and shouts of "Sugar Sugar". 

When the crowd noise subsided a little Art continued. "Next, we have the backbone of our team. She keeps our ladies on the right side of the law....just. Make some noise for Corporal Punishment!" Beth burst onto the rink with a spin, dressed in the same purple uniform as Helena but with the addition of a peaked police hat. She circled the rink but just before she reached Art, diverted up towards the front row of the spectators and made for the padded rail in front of where Felix and co. were standing. She stopped in front them, removed her hat and placed it on the head of an almost apoplectically excited Alison before joining her team mate. 

"Ok folks. Our third skater puts the lash into Clash, Rocks our Kasbar, every time she pulls on her skates. The coolest thing to come out of Britannia since the Mini Cooper. Let me hear you scream for... "London Mauling!" Sarah's entrance was, unsurprisingly, far more low key, but made no less impact. As soon as her name was called, she shot up into the nearest part of the track to the crowd and ran her hand around the entire perimeter of the spectators who whooped and yelled as she slapped each hand that was thrust in her path until she joined Beth and Helena.

 

On the sidelines, Delphine was blown away. She didn't know what to expect from this night but this craziness definitely wasn't it. She couldn't believe the hype she was seeing. Not that she disliked it. Quite the opposite in fact. It was electric standing in this crowd and she couldn't help but feel it start to crackle through her own body. The wait to see Cosima was becoming unbearable. How the hell was she going to follow this?

 

She didn't have to wonder for long.

"Alright. I know who's left. You know who's left. Last but by absolutely no means least. Our top points scorer for three seasons in a row. The science behind the scrapping. She brings her own very special brand of alchemy. Every. Single. Game. Please, tear the roof off this place for..."EEEEEVOOOO DIIIIIIIVAAAAAA!!" 

Delphine by now was leaning her whole body over the padded guard rail, straining to get the first glimpse of this other side to her funny, kinda goofy new friend; a strange feeling like butterflies building in her stomach. When Cosima did reveal herself, she was not disappointed.

 

Cosima's entrance was all grace and speed. She triple crossed her feet as she made her way around the track, occasionally dropping down to skate in a crouch before popping back up to skate on first one foot then switching to the other. And all the time waving her arms in various circles and choppy dance moves. She had already clocked that Felix had positioned their group in the usual finish line spot and she made her way up the track and gave Delphine a long salute as she sped past her to join her waiting team.  

Delphine's face coloured immediately. Her whole body felt hot. She was entirely captivated by what she had seen so far. Cosima had charisma by the bucket load and she had to confess to herself that 'sexy as hell' pretty much nailed what she'd just seen. 

Art's voice broke her train of thought "Ladies and gentlemen. I give you, our roller derby all stars. The BELL-A-DONNAS!" All four girls waved, skating off to their pre-game space and the crowd completely lost it at this.

Fee and Alison screamed with everything they had and, without considering it, Delphine found herself shouting along with them. When the crowd began to settle she felt a familiar buzz against her leg. She retrieved her phone and swiped the text message open. It was from Cosima.

 

**I saw you, Cormier. You freakin' loved it.**

**You owe me a burger ; )**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming soon....  
> Actual ACTUAL derby, honest.


	7. Kiss You Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's all going off!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little warning for a little blood, a little injury and a little carnage.

The meet had been going for twenty minutes and Cosima and the Bell-A-Donnas were annihilating their opponents with ease. Round after round they had scored point after point, all but unanswered by their opposition skaters who simply could not get near to Sarah and Cosima's pace around the rink.  Cosima was eating up the crowd adoration every chance she got and, as she often found herself in the kind of space she could usually only dream of in a competitive match when crossing the line, she had begun to really milk the situation; celebrating by striking all manner of weird and wonderful poses as she forced her team's advantage home again and again. So far she had crossed the line backwards, covering her eyes with her hands, bent with her leg out stretched and this last time, giving double peace signs to the crowd and Delphine in particular. Cosima was having the skate of her life and the fact Delphine was there to see it made the night all the sweeter. Having her there had certainly spurred her on and the thought of the two of them sharing dinner afterwards, albeit a potentially questionable burger from Art's, had certainly got Cosima buzzing. So much so that she actually kinda wanted the meet to be over right now, without the extra half an hour they were scheduled to compete after the imminent break.

 

In the watching crowd, Delphine was completely converted. She had been totally swept up in the frenzy of the crowd and the excitement of the fast and belligerent contest that was playing out in front of her. Obviously Cosima's grace and skill had impressed her but she was equally fascinated by the power and aggression with which Beth and Helena in particular defended both Sarah and Cosima so they could make the easy scores time after time. Although Cosima was getting the glory from the crowd, it was definitely a huge team effort and Delphine made a mental note to rib her new friend about this later on at dinner; something along the lines of her swooping in at the end and taking the love of the crowd on the back of her team mates' hard fought efforts should do it, she thought. When her mind strayed to meeting up with Cosima after the match, she felt herself smile warmly. She was looking forward to another evening in Cosima's company very much and, despite having a great time, found herself wishing the match was over so that she didn't have to share 'Evo Diva' with a crowd of people.

 

The penultimate game of this half was about to start and the teams were about to line up in their usual spots when Sarah pulled Cosima aside by the wrist. "Look Cos," she started "You need to tone down the showboating a bit. Have you seen how mad you're making their defenders?" Both Sarah and Cosima's gaze flicked in the direction of their opposing defenders and Sarah was right, the two tallest girls on the Skatesaphrenics team both shot them looks which, if they could have done, would've knocked both Sarah and Cosima clean on their asses. Cosima laughed "Of course I haven't seen how mad they are, I’m at least three quarters of a lap in front of them most of the time!" she replied and went to skate for the start line. 

 

Sarah re-grabbed Cosima's wrist to reinforce the seriousness of her message "It's not funny, Cos. There are three of us who aren't three quarters of a lap ahead of them you know? They're giving Helena and Beth a really hard time since you started showing off for your girlfriend. We're a team, yeah? Stop taking the piss out of them" she gestured backwards with her head towards their opponents "and get stuck in with the rest of us or someone could get really hurt here." Even though Sarah's choice of words had stung, Cosima had enough about her to recognise she had a point. She had been kind of showing off for Delphine's benefit and it wasn't fair to put her team mates in the firing line for that.

 

"Alright. I'll stop being so fresh and just skate this last round out properly. Okay?" She replied as the two of them skated up to the start line. What neither Sarah nor Cosima had seen was the silent signal that passed between the two opposition defenders they had just been discussing. As the buzzer sounded to signal the start of the last game, all four opposing skaters set off after Cosima. They were nowhere near fast enough to catch her but it was clear from the intent in their route and the set of their jaws that this skate was not going to be as easy as the others had been. The two defenders were skating as a unit and they took out Helena first. Not without a fight, but they managed to clothesline her down and out on the second lap with a huge forearm to the mouth. This lap was clearly all about inflicting maximum damage for them now. 

 

Upon hearing the crowd gasp as Helena rolled over to reveal a mouth oozing with blood, Cosima looked behind and saw the mess her team mate was in. She deliberately slowed in order to try and get involved in the fight she knew would be in full swing in a matter of seconds. She also knew she would be getting an earful from Sarah at half time and didn't relish that idea at all. 

 

Sarah and an opponent had made a break from the pack behind and were both challenging to take on the lead from Cosima now. They were almost in touching distance of her when, instead of overtaking as Cosima had assumed she would, the opposing skater chose instead to launch herself as aggressively as she could, head down and charging, into Cosima's midriff. The force of the blow not only knocked Cosima off her legs but launched her clean over the padded barrier and onto the ground in front of the first row of the crowd where she landed on her shoulder with a loud exhale of air. 

 

Delphine had watched all of this unfold in transfixed horror. But the moment she saw Cosima land in the crowd, instinct had taken over. She needed to get to her and needed to see that she was alright. In seconds she was up, out of her seat, had ducked under the barrier and ran the short distance further along their side of the rink to get to her. A crowd had formed around Cosima when she got to her but she pushed through it shouting crazily for people to get out of her way. When she did finally see Cosima, her concern only deepened. She was still flat out on the ground but it was clear from the twist of her shoulder joint, that it was definitely in need of treatment. Delphine knelt at her side and spoke softly "Cosima, I'm here. Try not to move your shoulder too much. We need to get you out of here and to a hospital so that they can treat your injury." Cosima didn't move. She had not felt pain like this before, even the slightest movement was ripping her shoulder apart, or so it seemed. She nodded at Delphine and wondered how she was even going to get up let alone walk around. 

A voice came over the PA system then, announcing the end of the evening and that the spectators should make their way safely and quickly out of the rink.

 

Just then Art, Felix and Alison appeared. "We need to sit her up and stabilize the arm if we can. Felix, can I borrow your scarf please?" Delphine asked. Felix duly obliged and by the time they'd tied it around her shoulder like a sling to take the weight of her arm, Sarah and the rest of the team had joined them. Alison gasped in distress when she saw the faces of the other skaters. They had clearly gone in hard to get revenge for Cosima being attacked, as each one of them wore cuts and other assorted battle scars. "How is she then?" Sarah asked. "We need to take her to the emergency room" Art declared and nobody argued. "I'd like to go with her if that's okay?" Delphine said quietly to Sarah, sort of seeking permission, but desperately not wanting to tread on any toes in this close group of friends. "Yeah, sure. You go with Art and we'll follow on together. We'll need more than one car at the hospital later anyway." Sarah replied "Merci" was all Delphine could manage, she had hardly taken her eyes off Cosima since she arrived at her side "I'll call Cosima's mom too. She'll wanna know what's going on." Sarah concluded.

 

At the mention of her mother, Cosima groaned. "Oh man. She's gonna want me to stop skating for sure after this. Please don't call her right away, Sarah. I can't have her freaking out around me just yet." Sarah looked sheepish but she completely got the panic. Cosima's mom was not a huge Derby fan and she gave a little nod in tacit agreement with her stricken friend and whispered "one hour" as she and Art lifted Cosima to her feet as gently as they could.

"Thank you, Sarah" Cosima whimpered when she had got her breath back. They made their way cautiously towards the parking lot but Cosima wasn't done "Can we tell her I fell somehow?" she pleaded. 

"Let's just get you to the hospital first and worry about what your mom says later." Art stated emphatically.

 

Forty minutes later and Cosima had been triaged as a dislocated shoulder and was waiting for it to be 're-located'. Delphine knew this was a horrendous procedure and for every minute that passed, the swelling would be getting worse and with it the amount of pain Cosima would have to face when they moved the bone back into place. The rest of the roller derby team, Alison and Felix were also waiting with them and trying their best to make the situation more bearable with the usual jokes and banter. But it was clear Cosima was in a serious amount of pain now and all attempts at humour were falling decidedly flat. Just then a middle aged nurse with a very tired looking but kindly face, called Cosima's name and what little colour she had left in her cheeks drained away in an instant. She stood with a little help from Art and Sarah and asked the nurse whether she could bring someone with her into the treatment area. "Of course you can, hun." Came the reply. "Just two though. Can't have your whole team back here, it's not good for the heart rates of our older patients to have too many pretty faces around the place!" Never one to miss an opportunity, Felix declared. "It's okay, love. I'll stay out here. Wouldn't want to set too many heart monitors off in one night." 

 

The nurse smiled and beckoned Cosima once more "Come on honey, we need to get you all fixed up. Who's coming with?" Cosima replied quietly "Sarah, would you and Delphine come with me please?" Sarah was a rock solid friend, she knew immediately the nurse said only two people that Sarah had to be one of them. The only slight doubt she'd had about asking for Delphine to be the other was that she wasn't sure how badly she was about to embarrass herself in response to her shoulder treatment. On the one hand, she would get serious sympathy points but on the other, if she wailed like a baby, that's not a good look to recover from! She did figure, however, that Delphine had been amazingly kind to her at rinkside when it happened so she would be pretty set either way really.

When both girls replied in the affirmative she turned to Alison and asked "Would you mind calling my mom now, Ali? You're the best at dealing with her when she gets freaked out. Please try and at least put the suggestion in her mind that this was an accidental fall. I want to skate again at some point."

 

In the treatment room, the procedure had been explained to Cosima by the nurse, Kate, who had slipped one arm of Cosima's top gently over her head. They now awaited the arrival of the Doctor who would complete the procedure before Cosima would be sent for x-rays to confirm the re-location was a success. Sarah and Delphine stood either side of their friend, each holding a hand. Every so often, Cosima felt Delphine squeeze gently, the inside skin between her thumb and index finger. As terrified as she was, this gave her a little comfort and distraction. Soon enough, the Doctor arrived, she looked at the shoulder, confirmed the diagnosis, and informed the room that they were about to begin. 

 

As Sarah was holding the hand of Cosima's injured side, she had to let go but she moved to the same side as Delphine, out of the medical team's way and held Cosima's leg gently at the shin. 

"We're ready if you are honey, Nurse Kate gently announced. Cosima nodded and took hold of Delphine's hand tighter. In seconds, the doctor had manipulated the bone firmly back into the socket with a pop, barely audible over the scream of pain Cosima let out as this was being performed. Tears pricked in the corners of her eyes, she had certainly not experienced anything like the agony of the treatment she had just received. Sarah was almost as pale in the face as her injured friend. She dipped a little to get in Cosima's eye-line and said "If you're alright, say something." 

After a few seconds of silence, Cosima managed to reply with an almost inaudible "Something." Both girls smiled in utter relief at Cosima's joke. They had been massive Pulp Fiction fans since forever, it was one of the things they first bonded over all those years ago and Sarah felt herself relax for the first time in the last hour. "Right, okay, if you're well enough to be making jokes, you're well enough for me to go and tell the others you're well enough to be making jokes. Bet they're wigging out out there. Especially if your mom has chewed Alison out over the phone. I'll be back a bit later on. Delphine will be okay to go with you for your x-ray won't she?" 

 

Delphine nodded and Cosima realised she was still holding her hand in an almost bone-crushingly tight grip which she loosened, but only marginally. "You don't have to stay for the x-ray, Delphine. My mom will be here any second and I'm sure you want to go home. You've been amazing here tonight, but you really don't have to stay." Cosima meant not one word of what she'd just said but felt she ought to at least give her companion an out if she wanted one.

"I'd like to stay if no-one minds." Came Delphine's reply. Squeezing her hand gently Cosima simply said "I think I'd mind more if you left." The two girls looked at each other as if there was nobody else in the room but were drawn back to the present by the voice of Kate announcing that she would be wheeling Cosima down to x-ray in the next few minutes.

At this Sarah said "See you later, yeah? I'm gonna let them know where you're going" and she pushed the cubicle curtain aside and left. Nurse Kate spoke then, “I’ll just check there's an x-ray machine free ladies, wouldn't want you having to wait around down there unnecessarily, not when my ward is much more comfortable and welcoming, anyway!" 

"Take your time" Cosima retorted "And I wouldn't call what you just did to me up here particularly welcoming!" Both Cosima and her nurse were laughing now. And Delphiine seized the opportunity to get involved too. "What she just did to you, mon amie, has probably just saved you from a lifetime of pain. You could at least be a bit less of a brat!" 

All three laughed now and Kate responded with a heartfelt "Don't worry about her honey, I've been called a lot worse than 'unwelcoming' in my time, believe me! I'm going to sort out our x-ray slot now. And some painkillers for you." She pointed in Cosima's direction "Be back in a little while."

 

When they were finally alone, Cosima shuffled over on her bed a little and gestured for Delphine to come and sit next to her on it. Delphine didn't need to be asked twice and carefully placed herself in the vacated space. After a moment, Cosima finally said "So, Delphine. Do I know how to show a girl a good time or what? Forget dinner and a movie. I gave you derby, bloodshed, hospital and screams of pain!" The events of the evening they'd had certainly served to embolden Cosima. Delphine had seen her in a pretty bad way tonight and she'd stuck around by her side through all of it. She figured that had to count for something. She decided to just put it out there "Not too shabby for a first date. I'd say. What do you say?"

Delphine's face lit up with the most beaming smile Cosima had seen yet. "I'd say it was the single most action packed and interesting first date anyone has had in the history of first dates." 

"Wow, okay. Yes, I'm good with that as a description." Cosima breathed. "Does that mean we get to have a second one?" 

Delphine didn't answer. She simply leaned in and kissed Cosima softly. Fireworks went off behind Cosima's closed eyes. She couldn't quite believe what was happening. When Delphine broke their kiss, a soft sigh left her lips. "Does that answer your question, ma cherie?" 

It took a few moments before Cosima could form words. She smiled absentmindedly and said "I'm not sure. I think I need that answer again."

They leaned in for a second kiss but the sound of raised voices from outside in the corridor gave Cosima pause. An agitated woman was demanding to know the whereabouts of her injured daughter. Cosima closed her eyes and leaned back into the pillow on her bed. She turned back to a perplexed looking Delphine and said quietly "Hope you're ready for this. My mom is outside and I can already hear her raising hell." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Massive and heartfelt thank yous to all nurses everywhere. When we're at our worst, they give their best.  
> Don't think I could love you people more. Angels all.


	8. Unfamiliar Places

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More fun and games at the emergency room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a lot longer than planned. Sorry, folks.
> 
> Not so much Cophine this time.

The commotion playing out on the other side of Cosima's cubicle curtain was getting gradually louder and ever closer. Cosima steeled herself for the fallout she was about to face from her decidedly angry sounding mother. Delphine, who really didn't know quite what to expect, had left her place on Cosima's bed and sat quietly in her previous seat by her side. "I don't care if she's not alone, that's not really the point. I've been here at least ten minutes and I'm  _still_  not with my daughter. Can someone just, please, show me to the right cubicle and let me see for myself that my child is as okay as everyone keeps  _telling_  me she is!" The woman's voice rose considerably with the final four words, becoming almost shrill.  

Behind the disappointingly unsoundproof curtain, Cosima cringed. Her eyes had shot over to Delphine's at her mother's use of the word 'child,' and she marvelled at the uncanny skill her mother had for embarrassing her even when she wasn't even fully in her presence. Delphine gave a sympathetic smile but before she could speak, the curtain had been thrown aside and in the space stood Cosima's mother. At the sight of her injured daughter, Mrs Niehaus recoiled slightly and gave a quiet exclamation of "My God!" She seemed to struggle a little for steady footing. Cosima, who could not yet find it in herself to meet her mother's gaze, didn't see this momentary falter. But Delphine did. 

Mrs Niehaus made her way over to her daughter's injured side. She placed her hand on Cosima's forehead. Cosima pushed that hand away. "Don't mother me" she stated and both Delphine and her mom recoiled a little.

"It's kinda my job to do that, Cosima" her mother replied but the light-heartedness of her words didn't make it to the expression on her face which was pinched in concern for her daughter's condition.

"So, what have they told you?" Cosima asked, her tone a little less harsh this time. "Not much really. They said your shoulder was dislocated but they've put it back into place now and that you're waiting for an x-ray to check whether the bone has gone back into the joint as it should be." Cosima's mother paused. She seemed to notice Delphine for the first time. She offered the unknown girl a simple "Hi." Delphine responded with a rather uncertain sounding "Allo" from which Cosima made a fuller introduction "Mom, this is Delphine. I met her at the rink a few weeks ago. She not part of derby,” she added defensively “she was a roller disco friend of Felix. And now she's a friend of mine too." Cosima smiled goofily as he said this and Delphine couldn't help but return the look with interest. The mutual admiration between the two girls did not escape Mrs Niehaus' notice. She also gave a small smile to herself. "Bon soir Mrs Niehaus" came Delphine's rather delayed response, and she smiled as amiably as she could. The resemblance between Cosima and her mother was more than a passing one, Delphine noticed. They had a similar posture and animated hand gestures accompanied both when they spoke. Cosima looked a lot like her mother, she didn't wear her hair in dreads and the temples may have been greying a little, but the resemblance was pretty striking she thought. 

"Is anyone going to tell me how this happened then? Or do I have to keep playing out the pretty graphic scenarios I have been imagining since I got Alison's call?" Mrs Niehaus finally asked.

"It was nothing, Mom. Just a freak accident. It could have happened to any of us and we probably couldn't ever recreate the exact circumstances of how it happened again even if we tried." Cosima was rambling and her mother wasn't buying it.

"I saw the rest of your team when I got here, Cosima. They all look like they've been ten rounds in a boxing ring. Please don't insult my intelligence any more tonight. We're going to have a serious talk about your participation in roller derby when we get home." 

Cosima considered arguing the point there and then but could see from the set of her mom's jaw that this definitely wasn't the right time for any such discussion. She doubted she would ever get the best of this particular conversation at any point in the future. It didn't feel good. She looked over towards Delphine and asked "Do they have any of those cardboard bowls behind you there, please? I'm feeling kinda sick all of a sudden." Delphine found one and passed it over whilst Cosima's mother made to feel her head again, but before she could, the cubicle curtain opened and the beaming face of nurse Kate appeared in a perfectly timed interruption. She wasn't given a chance to deliver whatever she had come to say however, as Cosima's mom took off again; bombarding the poor woman with a string of questions and demands for information. The nurse simply waited patiently for her concern to blow itself out before informing the room that their x-ray slot was in the next ten minutes. She then whisked Cosima's mother away to complete relevant paperwork and reassure her somewhat about her daughter's situation. 

Alone again, Cosima finally broke the silence that had descended upon the two girls with a deflated sigh. “Man, I’m sorry about my mom Delphine. She’s kind of overbearing and totally has it out for me with derby. She’s wanted me to quit for a long time now. This” she said pointing at her shoulder “is gonna be hard to justify.” She sighed again “I hate fighting with my mom but she won’t see reason about this, I know it.”

Delphine motioned to take her place on the bed next to Cosima again and was met with a swift nod of agreement from the forlorn patient. “Why does it have to be a fight, ma Cherie? She didn’t seem overbearing to me, just now. Only worried. Why can’t you just talk to her about how much the derby team means to you and what you get out of it?”

Cosima turned her body side on in order to face Delphine more clearly “Look, I’m sure you’re just trying to be super nice, but you barely met her. I don’t know what kind of relationship you have with your mother but mine is pretty complex. She is great mostly but on this subject we’re just polar opposites. It’s never going be something we can agree on so I just try to avoid discussing it at all. It’s just easier. Now she wants some big ‘talk’, eugh. No thanks”

Delphine had wanted to say much more but could see pushing Cosima on this subject would be futile right now. Instead she rose from the bed and kissed Cosima lightly on her forehead stating “they will be back in a moment to take you for that x-ray. Do you think your mother will be ok with me coming too?” She took her place in her previous bed-side chair and Cosima nodded “sure. I don’t see why not.” They waited then for the nurse and her mother to make their return.

 

Elsewhere, at the nurses’ station, nurse Kate had managed to reassure Cosima’s mother that her daughter’s injury, whilst unwelcome, was pretty straightforward to deal with. She explained to the panicked woman “It could have been much more serious if she’d hadn’t been looked after so well at the rink by her friends.”  Cosima’s mother was more than a little taken aback by this information, not to say dubious about what she was hearing and gave a quizzical look to the nurse in lieu of a verbal reply. “When Cosima arrived here, her arm was in a sling which really helped take the pressure off the injury and her friends pretty much carried her in here like a piece of delicate china! Even I could see they were terribly upset at what had happened, just from a short time in the waiting room with them. And that French girl, she hasn’t left her side all night. Think she made the sling too. So the gentleman who bought them in suggested.” Mrs Niehaus didn’t know how to respond to this information. She simply smiled and said nothing. “Ok Mrs N. We can sort out the final parts of this paperwork when I get the rest of your daughter’s meds together after her x-ray.” Kate said eventually. And they made their way back to the cubicle.

 

Down in the x-ray room, only Cosima and her technician were allowed in the room where the actual procedure took place. Delphine and Mrs Niehaus had to wait in an adjoining room with a glass window from which they could view the whole thing at a safe distance. They stood side by side and watched together. 

“So Delphine,” Mrs Niehaus began. All the time, her gaze unwaveringly fixed upon her daughter. “You’re not in the roller derby team, are you a fan?” Delphine stared just as transfixed at the sight through the window but replied “Er no, not really. Tonight was my first ever game. I was kind of disrespectful of the sport to be honest.” She smiled “Cosima asked me to come and see a match and see what I made of it.”

“And what did you make of it?” Mrs Niehaus prompted.

“To be totally honest, it was a lot more exciting than I had expected it to be. The team are really skilful and they work so hard for each other. They’re really impressive. Much more so than I thought they would be.” Silence fell between the two of them. And remained.

“Look who I’m telling, though” Delphine tried again “You don’t need me to tell you how great the team is.” Delphine was cut off then. “I don’t go to Cosima’s games” Mrs Niehaus stated, coldly.

“Oh” was all Delphine could muster in response as she stole a glance at Cosima’s mother. Even in profile, she could see the older woman’s unease play out in her expression. A longer silence returned once more.

Finally Mrs Niehaus took in a deep, audible breath. Delphine could tell she had been struggling with something she needed to say. “In the spirt of honesty you started, Delphine.” She began “I have been expecting a call like the one I received tonight for a very long time. For the six years that she’s been involved in this derby team I’ve seen cuts and bruises, chipped teeth, sprained ankles and now this. Cosima doesn’t understand why I won’t go to her games and I know she resents it, but every time she goes out to play a match I worry until she comes through the front door again. She may be eighteen, but she’s my only daughter, my little girl.” She paused and seemed to gather herself at this “That girl is so smart and full of so much potential. I want such great things for her. College and a career that she can be proud of. But when it comes to anything roller derby, the girl has a massive blind spot. She won’t discuss it without the whole thing descending into a huge fight. I really hate fighting with my daughter. But this injury is serious. Look at her, she’s having an x-ray for God’s sake! We can’t just ignore the problem anymore.”

The echo of her daughter’s earlier words was not lost on Delphine. Nor was the obvious love they had for each other.

“Mrs Niehaus, do you know what Cosima and I have talked about most of all in these weeks that I’ve known her?” When no more reply than a shake of the head was forthcoming, Delphine continued “We found out pretty fast that we have this shared passion for science. I hope to be lucky enough to study to be a doctor and Cosima is also considering which branch of the sciences she hopes to study next year. She knows college is her next step and she is coming to terms with the fact that it will also mean big changes; losing the closeness she has with her friends and with you.”

“I’m sure I don’t figure in any thoughts Cosima has about her future but you’re very sweet to say so.” Mrs Niehaus replied dispassionately. Cosima’s x-rays were nearing completion and her viewers now turned to face each other for the first time. “All this college talk is news to me, Delphine.”

“Well. It will be won’t it?” Delphine replied with a placatory smile. “If you aren’t discussing the most important thing in Cosima’s life right now, roller derby, she’s not going to be very inclined to come to you and talk about the other big things she’s dealing with.” Delphine saw the set of Mrs Niehaus’ jaw clench. She knew this was bold and potentially not very wise but she also felt that if this woman was half as smart as she seemed, she would be open enough to listen to reason.

“Cosima will come and speak with you about her future when she has figured it out a little better. Of course she will. But I think she will do it when she has something definite to say. She is still deciding things herself, eventually, she will talk it through with you and seek your opinion. No matter what you think, your opinion is obviously important to her or she wouldn’t be so concerned about the way roller derby can come between you. She would simply do it and not care, I think.” Delphine had begun to lose a little confidence and it showed through in the way the final two words had become much quieter.

She began again “This injury will take a couple of months at least to heal. Then Cosima will have to endure a lot of physiotherapy. She won’t be able to skate properly again for quite some time. I think that makes any discussion of derby moot at the moment does it not?” Mrs Niehaus had not spoken throughout but her eyes never left Delphine’s. She seemed to really see her now. See in the earnestness of the gaze that had met her own. See the careful way she had clearly been choosing her words. See that this girl cared about her daughter a great deal. She had no need to interfere in their relationship in this risky way, even if it was an attempt to build bridges. It could certainly have jeopardised the way she had been perceived, yet she did it anyway and Mrs Niehaus admired her for that.

 She softened the hard stare she had been giving Delphine “Moot?” Mrs Niehaus asked with a genuinely warm smile.

“Oh, yes” Delphine replied a little puzzled “did I use it wrongly?”

“No sweetie, you used it just right.” Mrs Niehaus replied with a small laugh.

 

“Hey. What’s all this?” came a familiar voice from behind them. “You two are supposed to be grief-stricken at my horrific injury. Or at least uncomfortably waiting in silence till I get back.” Cosima joked as she was wheeled into the room.

“Yeah, we tried the uncomfortable silence. Turns out, we’re not a fan.” Cosima’s mother smiled at her daughter’s cheeky interruption then turned her attention to the accompanying nurse “So, how’d everything look? She going to need a transplant or will that arm be ok for a few more years?”

Nurse Kate, glad to see humour had replaced the earlier tension, replied “Yep. All is back where it should be. The joint looks just right, give or take a little swelling. It’ll be painful for a while yet and you will need to have some pretty intensive physiotherapy for a while but, if you do, it’ll be good as new in a few months’ time.”

Cosima’s face fell dramatically at this news.  “A few months?! Oh man. I’m gonna go stir crazy without skating for a few months. The whole season will be almost over before I get to skate again.” She looked crushed.

"I'm sorry, honey, but this isn’t the type of injury that can be rushed. Recovery will take time. I’m going to get the rest of your paperwork now to discharge you. If you make your way back to the nurse’s station when you’re ready. I won’t be long” she said and left them to their discussion.

Mrs Niehaus took the initiative “I’m sorry that you won’t be able to skate, sweetie.” Cosima looked up at her mother, pure disbelief written across her face. But before she could protest, Delphine put her hand on Cosima’s shoulder and her mother continued. “You may not believe me but I am. I may not like roller derby but that doesn’t mean I want you to have to stop because you’ve been hurt. I want you to be happy. This makes you happy so I don’t want us to fight about it anymore. I hate fighting with you.”

Cosima couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. Twenty minutes spent in Delphine’s company and her mom was a different person!

She looked at her and asked “What have you done with my mother, Delphine? This must be some kind of clone, cuz my real mother would never say what she just did.” They laughed now and Mrs Niehaus feigned hurt feelings. “I _may_ have been a touch overbearing when I first arrived but I was freaking out little. I really am sorry for that, but I didn’t know what I was going to find. I needn’t have worried though, you were in good hands tonight, I see that now. And I don’t just mean here.” She looked at Delphine now and fixed her with the kindest smile of appreciation she could. “It’s pretty late now, do you think your friends will still be waiting outside for you?” Mrs Niehaus asked of her daughter. “They were going to stay but I texted Sarah earlier and told them to go home. I’ll see her tomorrow.” Mrs Niehaus looked a little abashed, she knew Cosima would only have done this to spare them another potential earful of grief from her. In the spirt of building bridges she announced “Ok, well. I’d like to thank them for looking after you so would you please invite them to come around for lunch tomorrow? Art too.”

Cosima’s jaw almost hit the floor. She shook her head incredulously but replied “Yeah, sure. I’ll ask them” Cosima’s mother replied with a simple “Good” before turning to Delphine once again “What about you sweetie? You’re welcome to join us for lunch tomorrow too. In fact, have you told your parents where you are? Won’t they be worried?”

“I spoke to maman earlier tonight, she knows where I am. Actually, now would be a good time to call her to come and pick me up, I think.” Delphine suggested.

Mrs Niehaus responded without missing a beat. “It seems a terrible inconvenience to get her out here now when we have a car outside. We can take you home. Actually, do you think your parents would mind if you stayed over tonight? Seems silly if you’re coming for lunch anyway. You are coming for lunch I assume?”

Cosima could sense Delphine was a little overwhelmed and cut in before she could answer “Jeez, Mom. No, you’re not overbearing at all. Take a breath will you. Delphine probably just wants to go home. Stop bombarding her.” Delphine smiled affectionately at both of her companions.

“Right. I’m sorry, Delphine.” She said and threw her hands up a little in surrender. “I’d be happy to drive you home. I’ll just go and find Kate and see if there’s anything else I need to sign before I can get us out of here.” She turned on her heel then, and was gone.

“Wow.” Cosima stated emphatically. “Take no notice of my mom, Delphine. She always means well, but she just doesn’t know when to stop.”

Delphine moved behind Cosima and began to wheel her back towards the nurses’ station. “I like her.” She said finally. "She’s easy to talk to. And she’s funny too.” Cosima didn’t reply but couldn’t help but wonder for the second time that night, what the hell had gone on whilst she was being x-rayed!

After a moment’s silence, Delphine quietly said “I would love to stay at your place tonight, ma cherie, but I have nothing to wear tomorrow, or tonight for that matter!”

Cosima was glad that from the angle Delphine was looking, she would not be able to the huge grin that had spread uncontrollably across her face.

“If all you’re worried about is clothes, you really don’t have to. We have a house full of them. You have two whole wardrobes to choose from. And I know my mom has a bunch of new toothbrushes and that kind of stuff so really, if that’s what’s stopping you from staying, don’t even worry about it. Not that I'm assuming you want to stay. I mean, I was just trying to give you all the information...”

Delphine grinned hugely now too, partly at the thought of spending the night with Cosima but mostly at the way her excited behaviour was a perfect mirror of her mother’s. She stopped pushing the wheelchair for a second, walked in front of it and knelt to bring her face level with Cosima’s.  “Take a breath will you.” Delphine teased and Cosima, realising she had just as little chill as her mother given the right circumstances, smiled dopily at her response of “I’d love to come and stay with you tonight.”

Delphine kissed her then, more intensely than she had before on this strange and eventful night. A kiss which left Cosima in no doubt just how happy she was to be coming home with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots more Cophine next time...
> 
>  
> 
> Not sure when that will be. Will do my best not to leave it too long, hopefully.


	9. Fiesta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Think Jay Z said it best (well, some of it)
> 
> After the show it's the after party.  
> And after the party it's the hotel lobby.  
> And after the Belvie then it's probably Cris
> 
> And after the hospital its probably this...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sincere and grovelling apologies for how long this took to get written. I may have to quit working and 'Walk the Earth' if I'm ever to finish a story up in here.

The drive home had been a quiet one. Mrs Niehaus took as much care as she could to avoid any bumps in the road and Cosima sat in the back leaning drowsily with her 'good' side on Delphine's shoulder. Delphine didn't mind this at all, in fact she was quite taken with the scent of Cosima's hair; a strange mix of earthy tones which she assumed were mostly the wax in her dreads. She nodded off periodically too, it had been an extremely long night and she couldn't wait to get to bed. 

It was this thought, one which had excited her so much back at the emergency room, that was beginning to raise a slightly different set of emotions now, however, as their arrival the Cosima's place drew ever nearer. It was becoming reality now, no longer just a cool little idea, and her nerves were starting to kick in with force. Sharing a bed with Cosima! How would that even go? 

Unbeknownst to Delphine, a similar set of scenarios were playing through Cosima’s mind. She was about to get what she’d only dared to dream about for the last few weeks. Delphine in her room. In her bed! She tried hard not to let herself get too carried away. They had only kissed a couple of times. This was just a sleepover. But every time she thought of Delphine in her bed, Cosima felt not just butterflies flitting around in her stomach, what felt like some bird of prey was also flying loops in there.

Neither girl had time for further contemplation as the car pulled up in the driveway of a typical suburban property. Cosima stirred at the loss of motion, smiled up at Delphine and announced sleepily "So, here we are. Home sweet home!"  Delphine returned her smile, hoping any nerves had been masked, and made her way out of the car. Cosima, in what felt like a monumental effort, slid across the back seat and followed her out. Cosima's mother was waiting as she made her way out of the car where she took her daughter by the arm and guided her towards the front door.  

Once inside, Delphine's eyes scanned around the unfamiliar surroundings. Their home was exactly as she had believed it would be; walls filled with striking art but mostly covered by pictures of Cosima at various ages and in variously adventurous activities. Gathering bugs, riding a mountain bike, hanging out with Sarah, Felix and their usual crowd in many different locations and through a huge range of Felix's fashion eras. There were also pictures that had been snapped at a selection of what looked like birthdays and Christmases. The love felt in each one shone through for all to see. Delphine was most taken with a picture of Cosima and a few little kids, they could only have been about six at the most, all of whom were caked in thick layers of dirt! The picture depicted the aftermath of what could only have been a massive mud fight with a group of young friends Delphine didn't recognise. Cosima and another girl dominated the centre of picture, both looking utterly overjoyed at the state they had got into, proudly holding up two handfuls of mud each as if to emphasise, though none was needed, how they’d become this messy.  

Delphine had been so rapt studying the image that she hadn't noticed Cosima's mother at her side until she spoke. "I love that picture. Think it's my favourite photo I have of Cosima." The warmth and pleasure in her voice was obvious. "This was taken at our old place with Cosima's first ever group of friends, before we moved here. God. It took hours to wash all of the mud off those kids! Some of their parents weren't thrilled at their written off clothing either." Mrs Niehaus chuckled slightly at the memory and Delphine couldn't help but smile too. "Cosima hates that I still have this on the wall but it's the closest thing I have ever seen to a picture of absolute happiness." 

Delphine agreed "It's adorable. And I see what you mean completely. She looks overjoyed." A moment of silence passed before Mrs Niehaus shook herself from her reverie and offered Delphine a bundle of towels and other goodies. "I'm going to go up and see if Cosima needs any help. She will probably tell me to take a hike but I figured she might actually need me for once. There's a guest bathroom at the top of the stairs, first door on your left and there should be everything you need here to get ready yourself." She nodded to the bundle she had now passed to Delphine "Help yourself to anything you like from the fridge too, the kitchen is just through those doors" she stated and motioned to their right. Delphine thanked her but before she could say and more she was cut off by a huge yawn from her companion. She noticed than how tired the older woman looked "I'm sorry Delphine, it's been a pretty long night. My bed is calling me, hard. Please, make yourself at home here tonight and I’ll see you in the morning. Oh, and Cosima's room is right opposite the guest bath so you should find easily enough." Mrs Niehaus instructed before bidding Delphine goodnight and disappearing from the room.

Delphine made her way towards the refrigerator, retrieved a bottle of water and took a long drink from it. The conversation with Cosima’s mother was sweet and had taken her mind off her earlier jitters. Making her way now slowly upstairs she decided to simply let the night pan out as it may. As she reached the top of the stairs, she heard voices from inside what she reasoned was Cosima’s bedroom. “Aw Mom, jeez, at least try to do things gently can you?” were the last words she heard before entering the guest bathroom to get changed herself.

 

In no time at all, she found herself standing outside Cosima’s bedroom door. Delphine took a moment to listen and ensure she wouldn’t be interrupting the others before she knocked softly on the door and entered on Cosima’s say so. Inside, Cosima was sitting on the right hand side of her bed. She welcomed Delphine with an affectionate smile “You don’t need to knock, dude. Mi casa es su casa. For tonight at least.”

Returning the smile, Delphine began to feel a little self-conscious. She twisted her finger in the hem of the very oversized grey t-shirt style night dress she had been given by Cosima’s mother “I didn’t like to just walk in here, ma cherie, this is your bedroom.” She replied and made her way over to Cosima.

Noticing the large owl print Delphine sported on the front of her night wear, Cosima couldn’t help but take the opportunity to mock her guest a little. She nodded her head down towards where the bird sat on Delphine’s chest and simply smiled, declaring “Ah, very wise” before dissolving into a full grin.

Delphine knew at once what she was referring to and turned away in faux indignation at the joke. “Your mocking is very hurtful Cosima” she declared but both girls knew she didn’t mean what she’d said and both were happy that the potential tension had been dissipated, even temporarily, with what was becoming their usual back and forth. Cosima took hold of Delphine’s wrist and guided her onto the bed next to her. They now sat adjacent on the edge of the bed with their feet over the side. “I’m sorry babe, saw that owl and I couldn’t resist.” Cosima’s grin faded away suddenly as she continued. “It seems there are a lot of things about you that are pretty hard to resist Mademoiselle Cormier.” It was Delphine’s turn to grin now and the two girls shifted their bodies so that they were no longer adjacent but faced each other. Delphine leaned in and whispered softly “You must be pretty irresistible yourself, ma cherie. This was only our first date and you have me here in your bedroom. All it took was serious injury and hospitalisation.” The distance between Delphine’s lips and Cosima’s was barely a centimetre now. Each felt the other's smile as their lips met gently at first but swiftly escalated into a growing urgency. Delphine’s hands slipped around Cosima’s waist and Cosima let her own hand find the small of Delphine’s back. Their tongues moved playfully against each other’s and soon found an enthusiastic and passionate rhythm. Within a few minutes, both were breathless and reluctantly parted.

Cosima was the first to speak but “wow!” was all she could manage. “Yes, I think ‘wow’ just about covers it” Delphine added no less emphatically.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had that reaction to a kiss before” Cosima continued, incredulous. “Lights went off, Delphine! Your kisses are, like, magic!” Delphine giggled at this and blushed a little. She’d had a similarly intense reaction to what had just happened and wanted Cosima to know how much she had enjoyed it too but couldn’t find the words. Instead she cupped Cosima’s face in her hand, looked her in the eyes and simply said “I know, ma cherie.”

They spent a moment with foreheads locked together before Cosima pulled away a little. The intensity of her gaze deepened and she asked Delphine, without pretention and as if it were the most natural thing in the world “Lie down with me?” Delphine’s breath caught in her throat. She rose and made her way around to the other side of the bed, her eyes never leaving Cosima’s once, and got inside. Cosima did the same but winced audibly as she tried to position herself in the bed to face Delphine.

“Are you alright, cherie?” Delphine inquired after Cosima had tried several times to make herself comfortable. Cosima was clearly in a great deal of discomfort but persisted in trying to wriggle herself into a position where she felt comfortable.

She did not succeed.

After several more attempts, she finally exclaimed “Oh my God!” and dropped flat onto her back with a hugely frustrated huff. “This is unbelievable! You are right here in front of me, in my actual bed! And, thanks to this messed up arm, I can’t do a damn thing about it!”

She sighed loudly. “I am being punished by the God of unsporting conduct I swear it. Why did I have to be so cocky and piss off those other girls so much?” She sat up again and with her face raised upwards to the ceiling cried out “I will never showboat again, please, just gimme a break here!” Delphine, who had watched on a little shocked until now, reached out and covered Cosima’s mouth with her hand. She couldn’t help but laugh slightly. Cosima was clearly distressed but she looked so funny railing against the universe this way. “It’s ok, Cosima, really. Don’t be so upset.” Before she could continue, Cosima cut in “I am upset, Delphine! I’m gonna be in this useless state for months. MONTHS! Aren’t you upset?” The exasperation crackled in her voice but Delphine kept her tone calm and neutral “Well, yes. I’m upset you’re so unhappy right now but… “So you’re not upset that we can’t carry on doing over here what we were doing over there?” Cosima interjected angrily “Only that I’m unhappy?”

Delphine had not seen Cosima act this way before but quickly realised she was acting out of frustration and disappointment. “Okay” Delphine replied after a brief pause “you got me. I am only here tonight because I thought I was going to ‘score’ with a hot skater. Now that’s no longer a possibility, well, that’s it.” She smiled as she spoke and Cosima calmed instantly.

“That’s what?” she prompted.

“That’s it for us, this, our relationship.” Delphine waved a pointed finger between the two of them. “I might as well tell you. I was only ever interested in your body.” 

Cosima laughed properly now, stating “I knew it.”

When both girls’ laughter subsided she became more earnest again. “Seriously though. This is totally lame, I'm totally lame!! Believe me, Delphine. This is absolutely not what I had in mind for us the first time I got your head full of curls on my pillow!”

Relieved that her companion had relaxed a little, Delphine explained herself more fully “It’s really no big deal. It’s so late, we’re both tired and your…er...dexterity is compromised! You’re also obviously in pain. I think, it’s okay to want to go to sleep.”

“I don’t _want_ to. Believe me. But it doesn’t look like we have a lot of choice here. The universe has decided to sling block me so what can I do?!” Cosima said before lying back down with a final heartfelt sigh.

Delphine lay down too, next to her frustrated bedfellow, being careful not to bump Cosima and hurt her injured shoulder. Cosima adjusted herself so that she could take Delphine’s hand in her only free one. When she was sure Cosima was settled, Delphine cautiously wrapped an arm around her smaller companion and whispered into her ear “A few weeks is not forever, mon amour. Anyway, isn't it an accepted fact that anticipation is the best part of most experiences?”

She heard the smile in the tone of Cosima’s reply without seeing it “Whoever put forward that stupid idea clearly never shared their bed with a beautiful French blonde!!”

Delphine giggled and kissed Cosima on her forehead. In a matter of moments, both had fallen into a sound and peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more to go.  
> God willing, it won't take as long as this did to appear.
> 
> Thanks again for your patience. And for reading at all.


	10. Roller Disco Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after the night before...
> 
> Lunches to be had and resolutions to be found. 
> 
> Loose ends tied up.  
> Hopefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This should really have been 2 chapters to be honest but due to a pathological fear of odd numbers I just couldn't split it so it's kind of a biggie.
> 
> Think it's about time I gave credit to the glorious and wonderful Maximo Park, whose back catalogue of song titles and lyrics I have mercilessly plundered to shape this story. I ❤ them. So much. 
> 
>  
> 
> Hope you enjoy.

Cosima slept very poorly. Waking sporadically, almost hourly. She lay awake again, her luminous bedroom clock showing her that it was still only 6:24. 'How is that even possible?' she thought, 'we only got to bed at two'. Cosima's own thoughts had hijacked her in every one of those waking moments and again, they metaphorically kicked her all around the bedroom for what had, or rather had  _not_  transpired a couple of hours ago. If she was to be completely honest, it wasn't just the pain in her shoulder that forced her awake. Since Delphine slipped her arms around her four hours ago, Cosima felt a dull ache in her chest and a knot in her stomach that seemed to tighten a little more every time she woke and found that Delphine's grip on her had not loosened at all.

 

The bouts of sleeplessness did have one beneficial side effect, Cosima had been able to study Delphine's face in the kind of detail she could never manage were she conscious. It did feel a little improper taking advantage of her guest's unconscious state but she simply couldn't help herself. Delphine was breathtakingly beautiful; up close like this she bore more than a passing resemblance to a 50s movie star and even whilst shrouded in the passive mask of sleep, her features radiated the kind of genuine warmth and kindness she had come to appreciate in her companion. She pulled her gaze from Delphine and stared instead at the ceiling, letting out a quiet but frustrated groan.

 

Cosima thought back over the last few weeks and the ache in her chest stirred again. Recalling the conversation she'd had with Sarah that started her on this path which had led her to the arms of this stunning woman. She remembered Sarah's words with absolute clarity right then "What if you maybe end up getting exactly what you want?" The ache she'd been feeling inside seemed to subside a little and she knew the warm sensation in her chest that replaced it was not just the product of her proximity to the woman in her bed but also due, at least in part, to the love and gratitude she felt towards her best friend.

Sarah had given her the push, told her to 'apply some pressure', without her intervention and support Cosima knew that she would more than likely still be torturing herself, watching Delphine from afar and wishing things could be different. She owed Sarah so much and made a promise to herself right then to keep Sarah in her life no matter how far away she might end up studying next year.

 

Feeling sleep begin to tug at her eyelids at last, Cosima took one more look at her beautiful companion, stroked her face gently and breathed in deeply. She let herself fall then into the realm of her now pacified and exhausted subconscious.

 

It was the sound of early morning bird song that dragged Delphine out of her slumber; arms still wrapped around her sleeping companion. Careful not to disturb her bed mate she gently lifted her head to take in the display of Cosima’s glowing clock which informed her it was 7:02. Despite the earliness of the hour and the tiredness she still felt, Delphine was also filled with an enormous feeling of good fortune. She counted herself so lucky. Her mind played over the serendipitous way in which the events of the last few months of her life had aligned so perfectly to bring her to this moment where she woke; arms encircling a woman who offered excitement and happiness and possibilities. Delphine marvelled at how lucky she had been. Lucky to have moved halfway across the world.  Lucky that, even though she had not been in the country very long, she had found a group of new and wonderful friends she hoped to only get closer to.

And then there was Cosima. The greatest stroke of luck she could never have hoped to find in this brave new world she’d moved to.  This brilliant, impetuous, passionate, sexy woman she currently found herself wrapped around. And rapt with.

 

The previous night’s events had confirmed to Delphine what she had suspected for some time- the visceral reaction she’d had to Cosima’s pain illustrated it in Technicolor- she had fallen for Cosima in a big way.

 

She sighed then, and, with due care to avoid Cosima’s injury, tightened her embraced for a moment. Unscientific it may be, but Delphine felt sure as she began to drift back to sleep, that serendipity was alive and well and had been working its magic through her life. And oh, how grateful she felt that it had.

 

Then next time Delphine woke, her eyes met Cosima’s who greeted her with a warm smile and a soft “hey.” Their legs were entangled and Delphine’s arm still encircled her companion. She replied after a moment with a breathy “bonjour, mon amour” which drew a sigh from Cosima. “Good” she offered as a follow up “It’s not a dream. Cuz I think I’ve had this one a couple times before and it’s always ended in disappointment!” Delphine couldn’t help but smile at this as she squeezed Cosima a little tighter.

 

Cosima exhaled painfully and Delphine recoiled in horror. “Oh, no. it’s okay. It’s not you. I just need to move a little and I didn’t want to disturb you- hell, disturb any of this really- like I said, this has been a dream of mine for a little while now I was scared to risk it ending like those other ones!”

 

Despite Cosima’s attempt to make light of her pain, Delphine was concerned. She propped herself up on her elbows to look at Cosima more closely; asking “How does it feel today?”

“Kind of like it was wrenched out of and then wrenched back into place again” Cosima replied with a self-effacing smile. “I’m just gonna go take a painkiller in the bathroom” she added as she gingerly manoeuvred herself out of bed and out of the bedroom.

 

Upon returning, she saw that Delphine was just finishing up making the bed. Cosima was not going to let another opportunity slip through her fingers and announced “Oh no non no Mademoiselle Cormier. We are not getting out of bed right now. Get that fine French behind back to where I left it please.” Wordlessly, Delphine dropped the bed covers, threw up her hands in a gesture of surrender and climbed back into their still warm bed.  Cosima climbed in too and moved around until she felt comfortable but was positioned in such a way that she could hold Delphine. When Cosima had settled Delphine moved into her. Slotting herself slightly lower so that her head was on Cosima’s chest. After a few seconds of simply holding each other Delphine asked “How did you sleep?”

“Not too well to be honest." Cosima replied.

“Oh. That’s no good. The pain from your shoulder kept you awake?”

Cosima thought carefully for a moment about how to phrase her response “Partly that yeah, but partly because of you.” Delphine angled her head up so that she could look into Cosima’s eyes as she spoke. The alarm in her voice was also evident in her gaze “I’m so sorry, Cosima. You should have moved me over to give you the space to be comfortable”

“No. Delphine. You didn’t hurt me. That’s not what I meant. What I mean is you were a massive distraction.” There was no hint of playfulness in Cosima’s tone now, instead desire laced her words, thick and heavy. “It was impossible to sleep whilst lying next to you.” Delphine replaced her head on Cosima’s chest but remained looking up into her companion’s eyes.

Seeing Delphine look up at her in that way sent Cosima’s heart rate soaring “I wanted to touch you so badly last night” was all she could manage.

“I know you did, but you’re hurt. It’s…”

“I wanted to find out the way your skin feels” Cosima whispered cutting her off “and what it feels like to be touched by you” Delphine gave the tiniest of gasps. “Do you want that too?” Cosima asked.

Needing no further encouragement, Delphine let desire win. She moved upwards and kissed Cosima. Starting gentle at first they played with each other again but soon the intensity built until their kisses resumed the passionate tempo they had created together just a few hours ago.

Cosima made sure that her free arm could reach around Delphine’s back. She slipped it under her clothing and finally found the skin she had so craved. Delphine’s skin felt as softly beautiful as she’d imagined and the small moan Delphine made as Cosima inched her hand higher was one of the sexiest sounds she had ever heard. Delphine shuddered a little too. Unable to control the way her skin prickled under the touch of Cosima’s fingers.

Delphine’s hands too became busy. She’s found the edge of Cosima’s t-shirt and wasted no time in caressing a route across her body which satisfied her own need to feel but tried to avoid causing possible discomfort. It was Cosima’s turn to moan then, the glorious mix of reactions spurring both on in their actions. Hands ate up the territory of each other’s bodies greedily. Movements became more frantic. Kisses deeper, hands needing to feel every part and learn each other’s body. Mapping it out, inch by inch until every contour had become familiar. Every movement measured, every response registered.

Neither girl could be sure how long they had been entwined in each other when they finally parted, out of breath. Motionless, they simply bathed in the bliss of each other.

 

By the time Cosima and Delphine made their way downstairs it was gone midday and Alison and Beth were sat together on a couch in the lounge. Noticing their entrance, Alison immediately jumped to her feet and made straight for Cosima "Holy freaking Christmas cake!" she exclaimed "Can you move it? Is it painful? Do you know how long you'll have to wear that sling for?" Only Beth's swift appearance at her side and gentle nudge of her hip ceased the bombardment of questions but Cosima patiently reassured her stricken friend that whilst it was still pretty painful, she was doing okay and that Alison really didn't need to be so alarmed. It was at this point that Beth interjected, unable to keep her insight to herself any longer "I think you're missing the most pressing question to be honest, Ali. These two came downstairs together and, if I'm not mistaken, Delphine, those are the clothes you were wearing last night n'est ce pas?" Before Delphine could respond Cosima, who wasn't sure how up for this kind of talk Delphine would be, gallantly interjected, "Alright  _Detective_  Childs that's enough of that. Delphine slept over. Can we be grown-ups now?" Beth gave a triumphant grin and threw up her hands in surrender "Whatever you say she smirked and she and Alison returned to their places on the couch.

 

A collection of voices rose from the kitchen just then, signalling the arrival of more guests. After the usual greetings had been exchanged with Cosima's mother; Helena, Felix and a little way behind, Sarah, entered the lounge. Helena's bruised and swollen face was visible even at a distance and Cosima felt more than a mild twinge of guilt twist her stomach. She made straight for her and without saying anything at all enveloped her in a warm, if rather rougher than necessary, one armed hug. After a few seconds, Cosima sensed Helena’s unease and released. Neither spoke for a little while until Helena’s question “Why did you do this?” punctured the silence. Cosima was a little stuck for how to explain but tried to be as direct as she could. “Your lip, your bruises, they’re my fault. I’m sorry, Helena. I was really stupid last night. Are you mad at me?” Helena’s face took on a look of deep contemplation. “You did not hit me, sestra. Those girls were angry because you made them look foolish.” Helena smiled then “Fight is part of the game. I would not play if it was not!” Her face became serious once more “Lip will be fine and we kicked their asses. Bruises are worth that.” Cosima went to speak but Helena had clearly lost interest and demanded “Where is food?” Cosima pointed in the direction of the kitchen and asked “Will your lip be ok? Eating I mean.” “It takes more than cut to stop me eating” Helena laughed over her shoulder as she strode purposefully towards where Cosima indicated.

 

Felix sensed the conversation ending and took his opportunity to cut in. "Well, look at you my little Evo Diva! Not your finest hour I must say. Hope it isn't too painful, flower." His focus shifted dramatically to Delphine then "Although, if memory serves me correctly, I do believe this one is still attired in _yesterday's_ outfit" Felix paused to wring the last drop of drama out of the moment and Beth's laughter could be heard from the other side of the room. "Perhaps it was your finest hour after all!" he declared. Cosima's eyes shot skywards whilst Delphine took Felix by the arm and walked him over to Beth and Alison with Felix none too quietly stating "I demand details".

 

Sarah had allowed all of this to play out as she deliberately hung back hoping to get Cosima alone and gauge how she was really doing. When she approached, Cosima noticed right away that she too wore the proof of her own involvement in last night's skirmish on her face. Peeping through the make-up Cosima could only conclude she'd worn to try and disguise the battle scars from her disapproving mother, was a fresh and very sore looking purple-blue bruise. Cosima felt the same warm ache from last night swell in her chest at her friend's consideration. 

 

No words were spoken. Sarah's gaze fixed on her own and Cosima shot her eyebrows up coyly and gave a small shy smile by way of a greeting, still steeped in considerable guilt at the grief she'd caused her friends. Sarah returned the smile warmly with an accompanying "Hey" and kicked the toes of Cosima's foot softly with her own. "Gotta be honest, Cos, I didn't expect to get a lunch invite from your mom!" she announced dryly. Grateful for the neutral topic, Cosima laughed her agreement "You're telling me! Dude, she spent, like, a few minutes alone with Delphine last night and my mom is a different person. She didn't screw about me getting banged up at derby, she kind of said some things that made it seem like she's not gonna fight me so much on it  _and_  she invites you guys over to eat with us!" The incredulity in her voice was mirrored in Sarah's expression "I swear, Delphine, like bewitched her or something. Do they have Voodoo in France? Cuz this is unexplainable to me!" The two friends laughed together and Cosima's eyes drifted over to where Delphine sat giggling with Felix and the others. Sarah's words drew Cosima back to her "So, she's bewitched both of the Niehaus women then?" she offered. Sarah's words could easily have been taken as sarcastic or snarky if it wasn't for the affectionate smile she wore and the warmth in her tone. "Yeah. I'm pretty gone" Sarah locked eyes with her friend then, her smile developing into a grin. "Cosima, you were 'gone' about a month ago" she chuckled and made to join the others but Cosima took her by the wrist.

"Hey... You were right to call me out last night. Helena getting attacked and the fighting, that was all down to me and I'm so sorry you guys ended up getting hurt." Cosima dropped her eyes to the ground but quickly met Sarah's gaze again. "Thanks for staying with me at the hospital last night too. It would've been a lot worse without you there."

Sarah didn't know what to say. She held no ill feeling towards her friend at all and such open displays of emotion made her want to run for the door. But the forlorn look Cosima was sporting made it clear she needed to at least say something although she didn't really know quite what. In the end she awkwardly said "Come on, Cos. I didn't do anything... I held on to your shin and tried to block out that bloody awful noise your bone made when it crunched back in place" trying to deflect the compliments. "Er, what the hell was that by the way? That noise will haunt my nightmares for years!" "Sarah..." Cosima tried to interrupt her friend's transparent attempt to change the subject but Sarah wouldn't be thrown off course. "Forget it, yeah? You would've done the same for me if I'd been hurt. Right?"

"Of course" Cosima replied without hesitation. And the two girls held each other's gaze for a few seconds, before Sarah broke the silence.

"So where's this food I was promised? I'm starving."  

 

When they reached the dining table, they were not disappointed. It was piled high with more food than they could eat in 4 lunches, even with Helena in attendance. Cosima’s mother sat at the head of the table and Art at the other end with the other guest taking their places at the sides.

“Okay ladies and gents. I didn’t know what people’s tastes were so I’ve tried to cover all possible eventualities and cooked up a storm. It’s a ‘help yourself to whatever you want and pass around’ scenario so tuck in, please.” Mrs Niehaus announced by way of an ice-breaker.

Sarah, who had sat herself down next to Helena, elbowed her gently and asked “Did you hear that? Pass. Around. Not keep everything you love and eat it all up. Okay?” Helena, already with a huge mouth full of chicken smiled and said “we’ll see”

Food was exchanged until everyone had filled their plates. The flurry of activity died down as they ate and an easy quiet fell over the gathering. It was Felix who spoke first. “I love those paintings you have in the hallway Mrs N. They’re so vivid. Really powerful use of colour. You have a good eye.” A 100 watt smile beamed from Mrs Niehaus’ face “Thank you, Felix.”

 

Cosima looked at her mother and waited for her to elaborate. When she didn’t, Cosima urged her on with a grin “Tell him then, mom.” Mrs Niehaus looked rather coy but Cosima would not be dissuaded she smiled encouragingly at her mother, “go on” She cleared her throat with a shy cough “Er, those are mine. I painted them.”

Felix dropped his fork with a dramatic flourish “Stop! No you didn’t. They’re gorgeous. Are you an artist? Is that your job” he asked, completely enthralled.

“No, I wish.” She replied “I stopped painting about a hundred years ago.”

Felix looked devastated. “But why would you ever stop when you can create something as glorious as those?” he asked.

“I wish I hadn’t but priorities change. Time gets squeezed and other things that you love more come along and change your ideas about how you want to spend your time.” Mrs Niehaus offered by way of an explanation.

Felix didn’t miss a beat “Well I think it’s a bloody tragedy that you don’t paint anymore when you can do it that beautifully” he declared emphatically. “Felix” Sarah reprimanded and shot him a ‘shut your face’ glare.

”No, he’s right, Sare." Cosima interjected. "I've told her so many times to start painting again but she won’t have it.”

Felix had a serious bee in his bonnet now and although mindful of Sarah’s threat, he resumed a more gentle persuasion. “It’s none of my business, obviously, but I think you should definitely consider it Mrs N.”

Cosima’s mother smiled graciously. She was certainly warming to her daughter’s rather eclectic collection of friends and she could absolutely see why she cared for these engaging people so much. “Thank you, Felix” she replied with an affectionate smile. “Maybe I will give it another go.” Felix looked ecstatic “Er…maybe I could show you some of my stuff too? If you’re okay with that, I mean. It’s just…you have a good eye and I’d love another opinion on what I’m doing.” Felix’s voice trailed off but Mrs Niehaus seized on his offer “Wow! That would be great. Yes, I’d love to see your work.”

“Possibly not _all_ of your work, Felix” Alison interjected. To which Felix responded with a quizzical frown. “Yeah, definitely not _all_ of your stuff” Beth added with a smirk and a quirk of her eyebrows.

Felix caught on then “Right. Yeah. I’ll be a little selective with my choices” he laughed before demanding “Someone pass that amazing chicken back up here”

The rest of lunch went off without incident, even when Art asked how long it would be before Cosima returned to the derby team Mrs Niehaus didn’t miss a beat. Conversation flowed and an hour later the house was still filled with people most of whom reclined on every available seat, trying hard not to sleep off the huge meal they had eaten.

Delphine was in the kitchen with Alison and Beth loading the dishwasher and clearing away whilst Cosima, avoiding any such chores, had dragged Sarah out into the garden. Mr Niehaus joined the others in the kitchen just then “Ladies, you have no idea how grateful I am that you’ve tidied up for me. I don’t mind cooking but the mess! The aftermath. I hate dealing with all of that more than I can say. So thank you very much.” Alison beamed and shot Beth a ‘told you so’ look which they both knew was a reference back to the protests Beth had made earlier when Alison suggested they offer to clean up. Unable to resist baiting her girlfriend a little Beth replied “It was the least we could do Mrs Niehaus, after you cooked such a lovely lunch.”  Alison looked fit to burst but held her tongue. Beth knew she had totally pushed her luck but shot Alison the ‘what you gonna do’ smile which she knew had the power to stop her in her tracks at 20 paces. Alison’s resulting smile was all the proof she needed to see that it had hit the mark.

“How about you and I finish up in here, Delphine? Ladies, you can join the others if you’d like.” Mrs Niehaus suggested. Although a little apprehensive, Delphine nodded her consent and the others left them to it. A few moments passed in silence with Delphine passing plates of leftovers to the other woman who was trying to find spaces for them in an already overstuffed fridge.

“No. It’s not going to have it. I cannot store all of this food. People are going to have to take some home with them.” Delphine smiled “I don’t think they will mind, somehow. It was a lovely meal.” She didn’t really know what to do then but followed Mrs Niehaus’ gaze which had drifted outside through the kitchen window and come to rest on her daughter who sat swinging in a seat and laughing with Sarah. They both watched the two friends quietly for a few seconds before Mrs Niehaus finally spoke “She falls hard, Delphine.”

She waited a moment before answering. The implications were clear. Delphine turned to face her companion, waiting until she met her eyes before stating emphatically but softly “I know. I do too” she paused for a brief second then, before declaring “I have.” Mrs Niehaus smiled as wholeheartedly as she could.  She pulled Delphine into a tight hug then before leaving her younger companion to her thoughts.

Outside Cosima and Sarah had left their swinging seat and were walking slowly around the garden together. Despite the fun they’d been having, the silence that now lay between them had taken on a serious air. Cosima knew she needed to broach the subject of college next year and thought this was as good a time as any. “As if your mom and my brother are now art buddies” Sarah stated. She felt the quiet tension between them too and didn’t want it stretching out indefinitely. “I know” Cosima replied “I definitely did not see that one coming” she laughed briefly. The silence descended again and Cosima seized her opportunity before the will act left her.

“Sarah, I need to tell you something” Cosima finally exclaimed in a far louder and far more strained sounding voice than she had intended. She stopped walking and locked eyes with her friend.

“Are you pregnant?” Sarah deadpanned. Cosima laughed then. This was exactly why she loved Sarah. Cutting right through the tension in seconds. “No, I’m not. And neither is Delphine.” Sarah laughed then. “Come on then, what’s got you all agitated and serious?”

Cosima inhaled and steeled herself “It’s about next year.” She paused “Yeah. What about it?” Sarah prompted. When no response was forthcoming, Sarah continued “Is this about you going away to study?” Cosima simply nodded.

Sarah knew a conversation like this had been on the cards for some time. She knew her ridiculously intelligent friend would be going away to some incredibly prestigious university. She knew that university would take Cosima a long way away from her. And she also knew how awful that same super intelligent friend was at handling decisions like this when they affected other people. Most of all she knew how dreadfully she would miss Cosima. But, no matter how much she would miss her, she also knew she’d never forgive herself if she became a reason for her not to go.  She could though, make this conversation a little easier on her friend right now.

“Look, Cos. You’re, like, destined for academic greatness, yeah? I know this. You know this. That’s what’s meant to be for you. And unless some new Ivy League college has been built on the vacant land next to Art’s and nobody told me, I’ve pretty much been expecting you’ll be leaving to study next year.”  

Cosima didn’t know what to say to her friend. Sarah’s words were so kind and she knew why she was being this way but instead of making things easier they were making it worse. “Okay. Sarah. You have to let me get through the things I’m going to say now and just listen. You will want to interrupt me but let me finish, please.” Sarah shrugged and nodded her agreement.

“College is my path, you’re right. I want to do it. It’s exciting and all but when I think about leaving you, it makes me not want to go. Look at what you do for me? You pretty much orchestrated me ending up with Delphine. (Which I can never fully repay you for by the way!) You get into fights that I’ve started, you take care of me when I’m hurt. You make me do things I’m not sure I can. You cut through any and all bullshit barriers I put up and you make me laugh. God, you make me laugh.” Cosima's hands had flailed wildly throughout her speech. Whatever Sarah had been expecting, this wasn’t it. Cosima had never been so demonstrative before and right at that moment Sarah could not have spoken had she wanted to.

Cosima’s tone had quietened somewhat “I need you to know how important you are to me. You’re my best friend. No. That doesn’t even really cover it. You’re my sister.” Sarah blushed now, her hand reaching up under her hair to rub the back of her neck.  “I love you, sis” Cosima declared as she pulled Sarah into a hug and squeezed her with as much force as her shoulder would allow. After a good few seconds in their clinch Sarah finally responded “Shut up you sap.” She had meant it to sound light hearted but her voice sounded more than a little squeaky and the words came out in a higher pitch than usual. Cosima made as if to break their embrace but was pulled in tighter by Sarah. They remained that way for a while before Sarah wiped her face against Cosima’s top, broke free from the clinch and, without looking back, left Cosima in her wake.

A short while later Cosima heard behind her the distinctive accent of the voice she had come to love so well “Are you alright, ma cherie?” Cosima turned to face Delphine and closed the gap between them a little. She took Delphine by the hand and laced their fingers together. “No. I’m not alright.” she smiled “Alright doesn’t even come close.”

                        __________________

“Cosima, what are we doing here?” Delphine asked as their car pulled onto the deserted parking lot. Cosima grinned into the eyes which peeped at her through the rear view mirror but offered no explanation.

She drew the car to a halt front and centre of the familiar silhouette of Art’s run down roller rink, not quite hitting either of the parking spots she had been aiming for. 

Delphine, more than a little mystified at the choice of location, tried again. “It’s after 10.30, ma cherie. The rink closed over an hour ago.”

“Not for Art’s favourite jammer” Cosima replied, her now rather customary cocky grin plastered across her delighted face. “ _We_ are about to have what Sarah and Felix would call a ‘lock-in.’ As she said this, Cosima shook the keys to the front door of the rink in between Delphine’s face and her own. “They do it in British pubs sometimes, so they said. Just lock the door and keep drinking way after hours. Well, I’m not so fussed about getting you drunk but I did like the idea of having the whole place to ourselves; nobody pushing, preening or skating across our paths. It only took a little persuading to get Art to agree too. Cool huh?” Delphine said nothing and made her way with an almost giddy Cosima, towards the nearby door. She knew Cosima had been given the ‘all clear’ and figured an empty rink was about as safe a re-introduction as Cosima could get skating.

 

At the door, Cosima fumbled a little with the keys but eventually found the right one and let them inside. She turned to Delphine and declared. “I am buzzing for this! I haven’t skated in 3 months. Three. Whole. Months! It’s felt like a dog year waiting to get back on this rink. Seriously, tectonic plates have shifted faster than my bones have wanted to heal, Delphine.” Delphine laughed at the many mixed (sort of) metaphors before offering “I know, ma Cherie. I have been right there with you waiting for those plates to shift!”

 The smile left Cosima’s face momentarily. “I’ve not been the easiest patient have I? I know I’ve complained a lot over the past few weeks but you were so great throughout all of it. Helping me with the physio…” “Eh, making you _do_ the physio” Delphine interrupted teasingly. “Yeah, making me do that damn physio and just picking me up when I needed a boost.” She leaned in to Delphine at this and kissed her. “You know, your ‘boosts’ were pretty freakin’ amazing!” she said when their lips left each other’s.

Cosima had, by now, unlocked the second set of wooden doors that lead into the rink itself and when she pushed them open, Delphine gasped as she took in the sight that met her eyes. The rink was dressed in fairy lights which had been draped around the entire side rail and soft coloured lights played across the ceiling making patterns and swirls.

After a short paused to take in the panorama, Delphine spoke. “What…When did you? This is beautiful, Cosima.” The response painted onto Delphine’s face was everything Cosima had hoped. Delphine was completely astonished not to say blown away. “You like it then?” Cosima asked, the giant grin threatening to burst from her face. “Well, firstly. Colour me taken aback but yes, of course I do.” Delphine replied. “Good. Then mission accomplished.” Cosima announced proudly. “Er, was there a secondly to go with that firstly?” Delphine had been staring up at the light patterns dancing across the ceiling. The question brought her back down to Earth “Oh, er yes. Secondly, when did you do all of this?”  

“Cosima looked a little sheepish then and after a slight pause confessed “Okay. Full disclosure? I didn’t actually do all of this myself. I had Alison and Beth’s help” Delphine began to smile ruefully at her companion’s obvious reluctance to share credit. Seeing this, Cosima jumped straight in “But it was totally my idea so I get major points for that at least don’t I?” Tempted as she was to let Cosima squirm a little in her eagerness to be acknowledged, Delphine couldn’t help but want to show how much she loved the effort Cosima had gone to to make the evening so special. “Oh, ma cherie,” she said in her most seductive tone, pulling Cosima towards her “you get major, _major_ points for this!” The kiss that followed was slow and full of promise for a night that was certain to be everything both of them hoped it would.

Upon their eventual parting, both girls took a moment to compose themselves before Cosima asked “So. What do you want to do first? I’ve” she reconsidered her choice of pronoun before continuing “okay, _we’ve_ set up a table in the back, and Alison has left a dish she swears cannot spoil in one of the ovens so we can eat if you’re hungry. Ooorrr…we have an entire roller rink to ourselves, pretty lights and the most perfectly curated playlist of music waiting for us on my phone if you’d care to join me on the floor Mademoiselle Cormier?”

Delphine laughed spiritedly at the loaded question she’d just been given “If you put it that way, I can only really give you one answer, mon amour. Yes, I’m very hungry. Could we eat please?” 

Cosima didn’t miss a beat and made as if to lead them towards the back room before stopping abruptly. “You had better be kidding me because I’m dragging your perfect ass to the skate rack right now and will force you into a pair of skates under protest if I have to.” Delphine giggled and acquiesced.

As both girls sat lacing up their skates, Delphine turned to Cosima, the beginnings of a playful smile on her lips. “Cosima” she started “I have a request” Cosima stopped tying for moment and turned to look at her companion “name it” she replied without hesitation. “Will you show me how to do the moves you did when you skated in to the derby match? After Art called your name to come in.”

It was Cosima’s chance to tease now and she seized it gleefully. “Oh babe. Anything but that and I’d say yes in a heartbeat. But those are my signature moves. Honed and crafted over years and years of derby matches. You can’t expect me to just _give_ them away. To anyone who asks. You understand, right?”

Delphine sensed Cosima was mocking her but wasn’t entirely certain “But I’m not just anyone, surely, ma Cherie?” she protested.

“I know but think about what you’re asking me to do.”

“Okay” Delphine said, after a moment’s thought “I understand. You’re not going to teach your girlfriend how to dance with you?” she declared with a smile.

A huge grin broke over Cosima’s face she brought her right hand up to her heart and asked “Was that a sly ‘Black Kids’ reference I caught there Dr Cormier?”

“I think it might just be, Evo Diva, why?”

Cosima retrieved her phone from her pocket and synced its Bluetooth up to the PA system the way Art had shown her that afternoon. Momentarily, the jangly guitar intro of the aforementioned song came throbbing out of the surrounding speakers “Track two of the playlist I made for tonight” Cosima declared showing Delphine her screen. Cosima laughed to herself. “And to think, I was worried you wouldn’t like my choices” she sighed with relief.

Delphine, having finished with her skates, stood up and offered her girlfriend a hand “Are you ready, ma cherie?” she asked. “To dance around the place I love with the sexiest girl from the roller disco?” Cosima replied, beaming and took Delphine’s hand squeezing it softly “You bet!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contemplated adding a Prince dedication section to this but I'd got so much of it written already that it wasn't workable this time so I just dropped a few of the great man's lyrics in as homage to his God-like genius and general funkiness. Too many good souls lost this year. Rest In Peace, Prince Rogers Nelson.
> 
>  
> 
> Self indulgently (more self indulgently?!) I'd like to thank everyone who read, gave kudos or commented on this story. You folks are the best. This is the first story I've written and you've made this experience great.
> 
> Finally. Special thank yous to the following people:  
> JemOBaddict  
> OB_DLB  
> OKImafan  
> thetravelingkid for taking the time to leave so many kind and thoughtful comments.  
> Yous are lovely ❤
> 
> Til next time...


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